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4 

Scientific  Money 

By 
James  D,  Holden. 


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Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress  in  the  year  l^OI  by  J.  D. 
Holden,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


:1 
I 


Errata— In  the  third  line  of  page  20  the  word  'value'  should  read 
'volume.' 


ANNOUNCEMENT. 


Arrangemenls  are  being  perfected  at  Emporia  (Kansas)  for  the 
inauguration  of  a  non-partizan  political  movement  as  herein  outlined 
and  for  the  publication  of  a  journal,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
movement  and  to  the  propagation  of  the  financial  philosophy  advanced 
in  the  accompanying  pamphlet. 

The  new  paper  will  advocate  a  short  route  to  Prosperity  through 
direct  individual  action,  independent  of  existing  political  parties. 

It  is  believed  that  with  a  scientific  financial  measure  formulated 
upon  which  the  victims  of  the  present  money  system  can  unite,  the  plan 
of  action  proposed,  although  unusual,  will  commend  itself  to  the 
thoughtful  voter  as  simple,  feasible,  and  opportune. 

The  paper  will  be  issued  weekly,  for  the  time  being,  under  the  name 
of  '*The  Independent  League"  and  it  will  act  as  the  official  organ  of 
the  new  movement  until  a  permanent  organization  is  effected. 

The  editorial  department  will  be  under  the  supervision  of  Mr. 
Ilolden,  who  will  be  assisted  by  a  corps  of  able  writers.  A  leading 
feature  of  the  journal  will  be  its  discussion  of  the  panacea  proposed  by 
Mr.  Holden  for  existing  social  evils.  Criticism  of  the  Land  Currency 
theory  will  be  invited,  and  adverse  or  favorable  communications  of 
peculiar  interest  will  be  published  and  dispassionately  discussed.  In 
this  manner  the  financial  and  other  vital  economic  questions  which  are 
so  closely  associated  with  individual  prosperity,  and  which  are  so  little 
understood,  can  be  divorced  from  party  bias,  carefully  analyzed,  and 
mastered. 

The  active  co-operation  of  those  in  sympathy  with  the  line  of  action 
proposed  is  essential  to  success,  and  the  moral  and  material  support  of 
progressive  men  generally  is  solicited  that  the  movement  may  speedily 
assume  proportions  commensurate  with  its  importance. 


Friends  of  the  movement  are  requested  to  seal  their  approval  of  the 
plan  proposed  by  a  subscription  to  the  periodical  that  it  may  be  made  a 
powerful  medium  for  disseminating  a  vital  trutli,  and  in  effecting  an 
organization  of  the  non-partisan  forces  of  the  nation  for  immediate 
action.  The  reader  is  cautioned  against  underestimating  the  importance 
of  individual  effort,  as  it  is  through  this  means  only  that  escape  is  possi- 
ble from  the  evils  and  dangers  with  which  society  is  environed. 

It  is  recommended  that  an  organization  of  independent  electors  be 
at  once  effected  in  each  municipal  *'ownship  and  city  throughout  the 
nation.  A  Manual  of  instructions  for  the  formation  of  primal  organiza- 
tions— /.  ('.,  Township  and  Ward  Leagues — will  be  forwarded  upon  appli- 
cation when  the  same  is  accompanied  with  stamps  to  cover  postage. 
Copies  of  the  accompanying  pamphlet  containing"  the  text  of  the  pro- 
posed relief  measure  and  Mr.  Holden's  convincing  argument  in  support 
of  the  same  will  be  furnished  for  distribution  at  $8.50  per  hundred,  or 
$1.25  per  dozen,  postpaid. 

A  copy  of  Mr.  Holden's  ''  Metallic  Money  and  Hard  Times  "  will  be 
sent  to  each  yearly  subscriber  to  the  official  paper,  the  subscription  price 
of  which  has  been  placed  at  $1  per  year. 

The  necessity  tor  intelligent  and  immediate  action  is  apparent.  Let 
us  exercise  the  power  we  possess  to  inaugurate  an  era  of  unexampled 
prosperity  throughout  the  nation. 

The  primary  object  is  an  independent  political  organization  to 
advance  the  cause  of  reform;  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  the  Land 
Currency  doctrine  will  abide  the  action  of  such  organization.  All  who 
are  interested  in,  or  will  assist  in  such  independent  action,  are  invited 
to  confer  and  co-operate  with  us  by  letter  in  order  to  reach  the  point  of 
general  organization  and  effective  action  as  soon  as  it  is  practically 
possible  to  do  so. 

Address  orders  for  Manuals,  pamphlets,  subscriptions,  and  all  cor- 
respondence to 

THE  INDEPENDENT  LEAGUE, 
Box  961,  Emporia,  Kansas. 


Let  it  not  be  [orgotten: 
That  Ignorance  has  ever  been  the  complaisant  critic  of  Truth. 


SCIENTIFIC  MONEY 


— OR — 


Prosperity  Through  Legislation. 


BY — 


JA/V\ES  D.  hOLDE/M. 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  lies  within  the  power  of  Congress,  through  the  en- 
actment of  a  single  statutory  law,  to  immediately  inaugu- 
rate throughout  the  United  States  an  era  of  unexampled 
prosperity  for  the  followers  of  every  useful  pursuit.  The 
following  Images  are  written  for  the  purpose  of  demonstra- 
ting this  truth.  In  order  to  clearly  present  the  issue,  the 
text  of  the  legislative  measure  proposed  is  given,  to  the 
provisions  of  which,  and  to  the  reasoning  in  support  there- 
of, the  thoughtful  attention  of  the  reader  is  ir.vited. 


'■>  tl  I'^Ll,,*  ...  •»•• 


f  *  •  *  V,,  »•• 

•..•..:..:..;  'A-'  ;'<  r\   -'.:  ••• 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  radical  question  involved  in  the  solution  of  the 
Labor  Problem  is  the  question  of — currency.  Con- 
cerning this  question  men  generally  are  confessedly  unin- 
formed, and  it  is  therefore  not  unreasonable  to  connect  the 
financial  impoverishment  of  the  great  majority  of  men 
with  the  almost  universal  ignorance  that  j)revails  concern, 
ing  this  important  instrument  of  commerce. 

The  power  of  currency  to  immediately  supply  the  ]na- 
terial  wants  of  those  who  possess  it,  is  little  less  than  mag- 
ical, and  the  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  general  igno- 
rance of  the  nature  of  so  potent  an  agency  in  human  af- 
fairs, is  incompatible  with  general  prosperity. 

The  well  known  apothegm  of  Addison  concerning  the 
marvellous  power  of  Gold,  in  fact  applies  to  Currency^  as 
the  yellow  metal  derives  its  extraordinary  potency  solely 
from  the  statutory  decree  which  permits  its  owner,  at  will, 
to  convert  it  into  legal-tender  currency,  Addison  aptly 
says: 

"Gold,  (meaning  currency,)  is  a  wonderful  clearer  of  the  under- 
standing; it  dissipates  every  doubt  and  scruple  in  an  instant,  accomo- 
dates itself  to  the  meanest  capabilities,  silences  the  loud  and  clamor- 
ous and  brings  over  the  most  obstinate  and  inflexible.  Philip  of  Ma- 
cedon  refuted  by  it  all  the  wisdom  of  Athens,  confounded  their  states- 
men, struck  their  orators  dumb,  and  at  length  argued  them  out  of 
their  liberties." 

Let  the  nature  of  currency  be  generally  under- 
stood AND  THE  EMANCIPATION  OF  LaBOR  WILL  SPEEDILY 
FOLLOW. 

What,  then,  is  Currency? 


389244 


Scientific  Money. 


Standard  authorities  unite  in  the  following  generally 
aceepjted  definition;  viz: — 

"Thftcirculating  medium;  that  which  passes  for  money  in  a  coun 
try  the  aggregate  of  coin,  bills,  notes,  etc.,  in  circulation;  as  'A  me- 
tallic currency";  'A  mixed  currenc3\'  " 

It  will  be  observed  that  while  this  definition  states  cor- 
rectly of  what  currency  consists,  yet  it  furnishes  but  little 
if  any  information  as  to  its  essential  attributes.  A  proper 
understanding  of  the  subject  therefore  requires  that  the 
popular  definition  of  the  term  be  supplemented  by  fur- 
ther elucidation;  as  follows: — 

1.  Currency  is  a  representative  of  value  in  the  fonn 
of  a  token,  which  because  of  its  availcibiliiy  as  a  circulaf- 
ing  medium,  is  in  universal  demand. 

2.  As  an  agency  in  the  distribution  of  labor  products, 
currency  is  essential  to  society;  it  being  the  one  form  of 
value  by  means  of  which  man's  material  wants  may,  in 
complex  society,  be  readily  supplied. 

3.  Currency  is  of  two  kinds: — Legal-tender  currency, 
supplied  by  governments  at  a  nominal  cost  to  tJie  recipient; 
and  credit-currency,  supplied  by  private  banks  at  current 
rates  of 'interest.' 

From  a  perfected  definition  of  this  essential  factor  in 
the  afPairs  of  men,  it  appears  that  the  mysteriously  potent 
agent  called  "money"  is  not  necessarily  a  disc  fashioned 
from  rare  metals  of  exceptional  value,  but,  being  simidy  a 
representative  of  wealth — which  passes  current  because  of 
its  exceptional  arbitrary  power — it  may  be  made  of  any 
substance  ivtiicJi  is  capable  of  receiving  and  7'etaining  a 
legible  impression;  and  furthermore,  that  it  may  be  sup- 
plied by  government  at  a  nominal  cost  to  tJie  recipient. 

The  significance  of  this  imj^ortant  fact  is  not  general- 
ly appreciated;  i.  e.: — That  the  issue  of  ncdional  currency 
at  a  nominal  cost  to  iJie  recijyient  is  governed  entirely  by 
stahdory  regulation. 


SciEN^TiFic  Money, 


Three  kinds  of  national  currency  now  in  circulation 
were  thus  issued;  viz:— Certificates  representing  value  In 
gold;  certificates  representing  value  in  silver;  and  national 
bank  notes,  or  certificates  representing  value  in  government 
bonds. 

Under  the  present  law,  any  owner  of  gold  bullion, 
upon  presenting  the  same  at  the  mint,  may  demand  an  is- 
sue of  national  currency  in  the  form  of  gold  certificates,  to 
an  amount  equal  to  one  dollar  for  each  23.22  grains  of 
pure  metal  deposited.  No  inierest  is  cJiarged  hij  the  gov- 
ernment for  the  use  of  this  curraiicij,  which  is  returnable 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  Jiol ( J er;  the  bullion  being  held  as 
security  for  the  return  of  the  currency,  for  'redemption,' 
whenever  the  latter  is  no  longer  required  by  the  holder  for 
exchangeable  purposes. 

Currency  in  the  form  of  national  bank  notes  is  also 
issued,  without  interest,  to  owners  of  government  bonds,  to 
an  amount  equal  to  90  per  cent,  of  the  par  value  thereof; 
the  l)onds  being  deposited  as  security  for  the  return  of  the 
currency  at  the  pleasure  oftJie  recipients. 

Until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  national  curren- 
cy in  the  form  of  silver  certificates  was  issued,  without  in- 
terest, to  owners  of  silver  bullion,  to  an  amount  equal  to 
one  dollar  for  each  371  1-4  grains  of  pure  metal  deposited. 
This  currency  was  also  returnable  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
recipient  or  holder. 

National  currency  thus  issued  constitutes  an  available 
representative  (at  an  arbitrary  valuation)  of  the  several 
forms  of  value  deposited  as  security  for  the  return  of  the 
currency,  at  any  time  the  holder  may  choose  to  present  it 
for  'redemption;'  i.  e.  whenever  the  holder  may  prefer  that 
which  is  pledged,  to  the  use  of  its  representative. 

Such  of  this  currency  as  is  decreed  a  full  legal-tender 
in   payment  of    public   and   private   obligations    becomes 


6  Scientific  Monet. 


'money,'  and  when  issued  by  authority  of  an  established 
government  invariably  possesses  a  commercial  value  equal 
to  metallic  money,  as  it  is  invested  with  every  legal  attri- 
bute which  the  same  authority  imparts  to  coined  metal; 
i.  e. — arbitrary  power  to  discharge  legal  obligations. 

The  reader  is  admonished  not  to  allow  pre-conceived 
impressions  to  prevent  the  acceptance  of  this  vital  truth . 
The  full  legal-tender  paper  issues  of  an  established  gov- 
ernment, although  not  redeemable  in  coin,  are,  necessarily, 
and  ever  have  been,  the  commercial  equivalent  of  metallic 
coins. 

Notwithstanding  this  well  authenticated  truth,  the 
belief  strangely  prevails  that  legal-tender  paper  currency 
would  not  circulate  at  par  were  it  not  redeemable  in  GOLD 
on  demand;  it  being  confidently  asserted  that  neither  silver 
(•oins  nor  silver  certificates  would  continue  to  possess  par 
value  should  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  refuse  to  redeem 
in  gold,  all  silver  certificates  presented  to  him  for  redemp- 
tion. 

The  tenacity  Avith  which  men  cling  to  this  suicidal  be- 
lief is  inexplicable,  as  it  is  warranted  by  neither  reason, 
logic,  nor  experience. 

The  present  chief  executive  of  the  United  States  is 
conspicuous  among  the  expounders  of  this  pernicious 
dogma.  In  a  recent  message  convening  Congress  in  spe- 
cial session  the  President  says: — 

''The  knowledu;e  in  business  circles  .among  our  own  people  that 
our  government  cannot  make  its  flat  equivalent  to  iutriusic  value,  nor 
keep  inferier  money  on  a  parity  with  superior  money  b}'  its  own  inde- 
pendent efforts,  Las  resulted  in  such  a  lack  of  confidence  at  home  in 
the  stability  of  currency  values  that  capital  refuses  its  aid  to  new  en- 
terprises, while  millions  are  actually  withdrawn  from  the  channels  of 
trade  and  commerce  to  become  idle  and  unproductive  in  the  hands  of 
timid  owners." 


Scientific  Money. 


The  use  of  the  word  'knowledge'  in  the  paragi-aph 
above  quoted  cannot  be  justified.  The  United  States  Gov- 
ernment has  never  yet  failed  to  make  its  fiat  equal  to  what 
the  President  terms  'intrinsic  value.'  For  more  than  100 
years  the  government,  by  arbitrary  decree,  has  equalized 
the  exchangeable  value  of  all  metallic  or  paper  legal-tender 
currency  issued  by  its  authority.  It  is  the  fiat  of  the  gov- 
ernment that  to-day  confers  100  cents  worth  of  exchangea- 
ble value  upon  about  56  cents  worth  of  coined  silver,  as  by 
fiat  it  imparts  the  same  exchangeable  value  to  23.22  grains 
of  coined  gold,  and  to  12  ounces  of  coined  copper, — i,  e., 
100  copper  cents — the  inherent  value  of  which  is  less  than 
8  cents. 

The  value  of  any  article  or  thing  lies,  not  in  its  com- 
position, but  in  its  ability  to  perform  the  office  for  which 
it  ispeculiarly  adapted,  and  money  is  no  exception  to  this 
rule.  Money  owes  its  currency  value  to  the  extraordinary 
power  imparted  to  it  by  legislation ;  i.  e. — arbitrary  power 
to  discharge  legal  obligations  under  the  law.  Possessing 
this  exceptional  arbitrary  power,  money  necessarily  pos- 
sesses exchangeable  value  wherever  debts  and  taxes  are 
made  payable  in  legal-tender  currency. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  the  hypothesis  upon  which 
the  assumption  of  the  President  rests,  is  that  paper  curren- 
cy, irrespective  of  its  attributes,  circulates  at  par  for  the 
reason  only  that  it  is  redeemable  in  gold  on  demand. 
From  this  postulate  the  following  deductions  are  unavoid- 
able; viz: 

1.  Should  it  be  a  physical  impossibility  for  the  govern- 
ment to  redeem  all  its  paper  currency  in  gold,  on  demand, 
it  follows  that  such  currency  does  not  now  pass  current  for 
the  reason,  that,  in  an  emergency,  it  would  be  so  redeemed. 

2.  If  it  does  not  circulate  because  it  is  redeemable  in 
gold,  it  must  pass  current  for  some  other  reason. 


8  Scientific  Money, 


Does  it  circulate  because  those  who  accept  it,  believe 
it  can  be  converted  into  yellow  metal,  in  case  they  should 
ever  need  yellow  metal?  No: — because  those  who  receive 
it  in  the  greater  quantities,  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  ac- 
cording to  official  estimates  the  total  supply  of  gold  in  the 
United  States  (including  public  and  private  stores)  does 
not  exceed  $500,000,000,  while  the  public  and  private  paper 
obligations  which  in  theory,  are  redeemable  in  gold,  ag- 
gregate upwards  of  $6,000,000,000: — the  paper  obligations 
of  the  government  alone  amounting  to  some  $2,000,000, 
000,  while  more  than  $4,000,000,000  of  so-called  'bank  de- 
posits' must  also  be  'redeemed'  in  coin.  From  these  con- 
siderations the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  legal-tender 
currency  (both  paper  and  metallic)  passes  current  6eca«se 
of  a  value  inherent  in  one  or  more  of  its  exceptional  attri- 
butes. 

This  being  true,  it  folio vvs: — That  the  theory  of  'gold 
redemption'  is  simply  a  glittering  delusion  with  which  a 
credulous  laeople  are  bamboozled  by  the  designing  men  who 
cleverly  manipulate  the  monetary  affair  of  nations:  men 
whose  chief  stock-in-trade  is  a  futile  promise  to  redeem 
their  obligations  in  gold  on  demand — a  promise  which  in- 
v.^riably  proves  disastrous  when  put  to  the  test. 

Inasmuch  as  money  passes  current  by  virtue  of  its  ar- 
bitrary debt-j)aying  jDOwer,  it  follows  that  all  full  legal-ten- 
der currency,  regardless  of  its  material,  possesses  par  value; 
therefore  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  'superior  money' 
as  distinguished  from  'inferior  money,'  the  seeming  varia- 
tion being  that  which  ftt  times  has  existed  between  full 
legal-tender  money,  and  credit-currency.  So  long  as  legal- 
tender  currency  shall  possess  power  under  the  law  to  dis- 
charge legal  obligations  it  must  be  obvious  to  the  reflect, 
ing  mind  that  no  apprehension  need  exist  as  to  the  'stabil- 
ity of  currency  values.'     That  there  is  no  such   apprehen- 


Scientific  Money. 


sion,  in  fact,  is  shown  by  the  circumstance  that  both  gold 
and  silver,  coins  and  certificates,  circulate  side  by  side  pii 
terms  of  perfect  equality:  the  demand  for  one  equalling 
the  demand  for  the  other,  notwitlistanding  the  Treasury's 
^gold  reserve'  of  8100,000,000,  is  well  known  to  be  serious- 
ly impaired. 

The  belief  is  a  common  one  that  American  silver  coins 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  territory  in  which  they  are  a  le- 
gal-tender, possess  bullion  value  only.  This  is  one  of  the 
many  erroneous  notions  that  prevail. 

As  the  value  of  coined  silver  exceeds  that  of  the  un- 
coined metal  in  the  United  States,  where  the  coin  is  a  legal- 
tender,  so  do  American  silver  coins  possess  a  value  far  su- 
perior to  that  of  silver  bullion  throughout  the  world. 
This  for  the  reason  that  possessing  exchangeable  value  equal 
to  its  face  in  the  United  States,  it  is  worth  in  any  part  of 
the  world  an  equal  sum,  less  cost  of  transportation  to  a 
j)oint  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment. 

All  commerce  is  the  exchanging  of  commodities  for 
commodities,  and  currency  exists  but  to /aciZ//a/e  exchang- 
es. (!!oin  and  bullion  pass  from  nation  to  nation  as  com- 
modities— never  as  money;  and  from  the  fact  that  the  rel- 
ative value  of  the  precious  metals,  and  the  percentage  of 
alloy  in  their  coinage  differs  materially  in  different  coun- 
tries, there  is  no  such  thing  as  international  money;  any 
currency,  which  possesses  exchangeable  value  in  one  nation 
necessarily  posseses  an  equal  value  in  other  nations,  less 
cost  of  transjjortation  to  the  market  in  which  a  special  de- 
mand for  it  exists. 

No  event  or  circumstance  in  history  controverts  the 
statement  that  legal-tender  paper  money  invariably  pos- 
sesses par  value  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  nation  issu- 
ing it.     The   so  called    Legal  tender   notes  issued    by  the 


10  Scientific  Money. 

Federal  Government  during  the  iate  rebellion  constitute 
no  exception  to  this  immutable  law,  as  they  were  a  jiartial 
legal-tender  only.  Had  the  'greenback'  been  received  by 
the  government  for  custom  duties  as  were  the  'demand 
notes,'  (which,  because  so  receivable,  commanded  a  premi- 
um equal  to  that  jDaid  for  gold)  importers  would  not  have 
been  compelled  to  pay  a  i^remium  for  coin,  and  hence  a 
jyremmm  on  gold  during  the  loar  would  have  been  un- 
knoivn. 

Gold,  as  coin,  cannot  command  a  premium  over  any 
currency  which  possesss  equal  legal-tender  power  under 
the  law:  hence  the  assumption  that  gold  would  command 
a  premium  over  coined  silver,  should  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  fail  to  'maintain  the  parity'  of  the  two  metals, 
(by  paying  gold,  if  demanded,  upon  all  public  obligations) 
is  absolutely  groundless.  Let  this  truth  be  made  clear: — 
Upon  the  face  of  a  silver  certificate  of  the  denomination  of 
'§10,  appears  the  following  inscription;  viz: — 

"This  certifies  that  there  have  been  deposited  iu  the  Treasury  ten 
silver  dollars  payable  to  the  bearer  on  demand." 

Suppose  the  Treasurer  should  refuse  to  redeem  in  gold, 
a  certificate  bearing  this  inscription,  on  the  ground  that 
the  certificate  calls  for  silver?  For  what  reason  could  such 
a  refusal  enable  gold  to  command  a  premium  over  silver 
coin?  -Vs  silver  would  still  continue  to  be  money  it  would 
as  such,  continue  to  discharge  money  obligations.  Who 
then  would  be  compelled  to  pay  a  premium  for  gold?  It 
must  be  obvious  that  if  none  were  comj)elIed  to  have  gold 
it  could  not  command  a  i^remium  over  other  legal-tender 
current'}'. 

'"But,"  says  the  sceptic,  "there  are  in  force  thousands 
of  obligations  the  principal  and  interest  of  which  is  paya- 
h\e  in ''gold  coin  of  the  present  standard  of  weight  and 
fineness!''  Would  not  gold  command  a  premium  because 
of  the  existence  of  these  obligations?'' 


Scientific  Money.  11 


In  answer  to  this  hypothetical  question,  there  is  at 
least  one  positive  assertion  that  can  safely  be  made;  to  wit: 
— Gold  conld  not  command  a  premium  as  money  Vjecause 
of  the  provisions  of  these  contracts. 

Money  obligations  are  payable  in  money;  and  if  gold 
obligations  are  contracts  for  the  delivery  of  a  connnodHy, 
they  do  not  come  within  the  scope  oi  the  present  discus- 
sion. 


CHAPTER  II. 


In  the  discussion  of  the  financial  question,  confusion 
frequently  arises  from  the  lack  of  a  perfect  understanding 
between  disputants,  or  between  writer  and  reader,  as  to  the 
sense  in  which  monetary  terms  are  used.  In  this  connec- 
tion it  may  be  said  that  nearly  every  writer  on  the  subject 
of  Finance  is  open  to  the  criticism  of  an  indiscriminate 
use  of  the  terms— 'money,'  'currency,'  and  'medium-of -ex- 
change.' As  these  several  expressions  possess  separate  and 
distinct  meanings  they  should  not  be  promiscuously  em- 
ployed in  a  scientific  discussion  of  the  question.  In  this 
argument,  therefore,  the  following  terms  will  be  used  strict- 
ly in  the  following  sense;  viz: 

Money. — A  token  representing  value,  issued  by 
Government  for  exchangeable  purposes,  which,  irrespective 
of  its  material,  possesses  arbitrary  power  under  the  law  to 
discharge  all  public  and  private  obligations. 

Currency. — A  convenient  representative  of  value 
for  use  in  facilitating  exchanges;  issued  bv  either  govern- 
ments or  banks:  the  term  including,  legal-tender  coins, 
legal-tender  paper,  and  non-legal-tender  b mk  or  govern- 
ment notes  which  by  their  terms  are  payable  in  money,  on 
demand. 


12  Scientific  Money. 

Medium -OF-ExcHANGE. — Any     article    or    thing    by 
means   of  which    exchanges    are    facilitated:  includiug — 
money,  currency,    bank-credits   transferable    by   check  or 
draft,  and  any  form  of  value  which  may,  in  any  transaction, 
act  as  a  medium  in  effecting  an  exchange  of  property. 

Capital. — That  portion  of  the  produce  of  industry 
which  may  be  directly  employed  either  to  support  human 
beings  or  to  assist  in  production;  as,  money,  property,  or 
stock  employed  in  trade,  manufactures,  etc. 

Wealth. — 'Wealth  comprises  all  articles  of  value.' 
Property;  riches,  etc. 

According  to  these  several  definitions,  it  will  be  seen 
that  while  money  is  currency,  yet,  technically,  currency 
is  not  money  except  ivhen  it  is  invested  by  laic  icith  the 
full  legal-tender  attribute.  It  will  be  seen  also  that  al- 
though both  money  and  currency  act  as  a  most  convenient 
medium  of  exchange,  yet,  a  'medium-of-exchange'  is  not 
necessarily  either  money  or  currency.  These  distinctions 
are  not  too  precise;  they  are  essential  to  the  elucidation  of 
of  the  science  of  money;  they  disclose  the  striking  fact, 
that,  as  a  rule,  exchanges  a7'e  not  effected  icith  money; 
that  the  most  common  medium  of  exchange  is  neither 
money  nor  currency,  but^BANK-CREDiTS,  transferable 
by  cheque  on  the  books  of  private  banks — one  or  more  of 
which  exists  in  every  community. 

As  indicating  the  extent  and  intimacy  of  the  relation- 
ship that  exists  between  the  public  and  these  private  insti- 
tutions in  the  all-important  matter  of  the  distribution  of 
the  products  of  labor,  it  is  estimated  that  more  than  90 
per  cent  of  commercial  exchanges  are  consummated  by 
means  of  a  medium  supplied  by  banks;  viz:  bank-credits; 
such  credits  under  ordinary  conditions  proving  the  com- 
mercial equivalent  of  currency.  This  signifies  that  under 
the  present  method  of  issuing  national  currency,  society  is 


Scientific  Money.  13 


absolutely  dependent  upon  private  bankers  for  the  great- 
er j^art  of  that  which  is  essential  in  the  distribution  of  the 
product  of  industry. 

As  showing  the  manner  in  which  bank-credits  are 
utilized  for  exchangeable  purposes,  the  following  illustra- 
tion of  banking  methods  is  given  in  an  abbreviated  form 
for  convenience: — 

X.  opens  a  small  bank  with  a  cash  capital  of  $5000.     A B 

C D and  E,  merchants,   having  a  surplus  of  currenc}',   deposit 

with  him  flOOOeach.  A  statement  showing  the  condition  of  the  bank 
at  this  time  would  read  as  follows;  viz; 

RESOURCES:  LIABILITIES: 

Cash  oa  hand I10,00(t.        Capital  paid  in $5,000. 

Deposits  subject  to  check $5,C00. 


!J10,000.  $10,000. 

On  the  second  day,  F,  calls  at  the  bank  and  arranges  to  borrow 
$5000,  for  90  days  at  the  current  interest  rate— 10  per  cent  per  annum. 
F.  has  property  in  abundance,  but  is  in  need  of  c urrency ^Wie,  availa- 
file  representative  of  property.  F.  executes  his  note  of  hand  at  90  days 
with  the  customary  endorsers,  and,  not  wishing  the  currency  for  imme- 
diate use,  $5000  is  placed  to  his  credit  on  the  bank's  ledger— less  of 
course  the  'discount'  for  9B  days — $129.13. 

As  evidence  of  the  fact  that  he  has  a  bank  credit  upon  which  he 
can  check  at  pleasure,  F.  is  provided  with  a  small  book  in  which  it 
appears  that  he  has  'deposited'  with  X.  $4870.87  in  cash;  this  sum  rep- 
resenting the  amount  of  his  note,  less  the  discount.  lu  fact,  F.  had 
simply  given  X.  liis  note  for  $5000,  due  in  93  days— including  grace. 

Shortly  after  X.  had  extended  this  accomodation  to  F  ,  he  was 
visited  by  G.  and  H.  with  each  of  wliom  he  made  an  arrangement  ex- 
actly the  same  as  that  effected  with  F.  Both  G.  and  H.  departed  with 
a  small  book  in  which  it  was  reorded  that  they  severally,  iiad  depos- 
ited with  X.  $4*^70.  87  which  was  also  'subject  to  check.'  In  fact,  G. 
and  H.  had  simply  given  X.  their  respective  notes  for  $5000,  duly  en- 
dorsed, due  in  93  day^t. 

At  the  close  of  the  day's  business  A B C D and E 

as  actual  depositors  of  $5000,  and  F G and- H  as   borrowers 

of   $15,000,  (less  of  course  the  discount)   possessed   written   evidence 


14  Scientific  Monet. 


tliat  they  had  an  depasit  with  X.  a  sura  aggregating  $19,613.61,  all  of 
which  was  subject  to  check. 

A  statement  showing  the  condilion  of  X'&  bank  at  this  time  woul<J 
read  as  follows;  riz: 

RESOFRCESr 

Lians  and  disconnts (notes-  of  F G —  and H  fKiOO  each) $15^)00.00 

Cash  on  hand   (X's  capital,  and  aetaal  deposits  55CW) lO.OOO.Oe" 


S25,000.0O 


LIABILITIES  r 

Capital  paid  in , f  5,000.00 

Deposits  subject  to  check  ....  (15000  cash  and  X's  promise  to  pay  514,612.01)  19,612.61 
Undivided  profits (dssceant  on  loans  to  F G and H) 387.39 


$25,000.00' 


Of  coarse  a  bank  with  a  cash  capital  ef  $5000,  would  not,  in  the 
flrdinary  course  of  business,  loan  $15,000  to  three  men.  Divide  this 
$15,000  into  200  'accomodations'  averaging  about  f  75,  and  it  would 
more  correctly  represent  the  number  of  X's  borrowing  patrons.  If 
we  also  multiply  his  5  actual  depositors  by  20  it  will  give  him  100  de- 
positors with  deposits  averaging  §50.  As  100  depositors  in  X's  town, 
would  include  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  those  engaged  in  active  business,  it 
will  be  seen  that  all  transactions  between  X's  depositors,  (i.  e.  the 
business  community)  excepting  those  of  trivial  amounts,  could  be  car- 
ried on  without  the  useof  aclriul  currency,  by  means  of  checks  on  the 
bank.  The  checks  being  deposited  with  X,  he  would  simply  credit  or 
debit  on  bis  ledger  such  accounts  as  would  be  affected  by  each  check. 
Banks  can  thus  safely  accomodate  customers  who  wish  to  use  curren- 
cy in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  bank,  when  it  would  be  unsafe  to 
extend  the  accomodation  to  those  who  would  wish  to  send  the  funds 
abroad.  Thus,  an  industrious  farmer  may  borrow  $50  or  $100  with 
which  to  pay  his  taxes,  at  times  when  the  bank  would  not  be  freely 
'discounting'  for  ordinary  business  purposes.  As  it  is  the  custom  for 
County  Treasurers  to  deposit  the  public  funds  with  the  local  banks, 
the  currency  loaned  for  tax  paying  purposes  is  reasonably  sure  to  find 
its  way  back  to  the  bank's  vault  before  the  close  of  the  day's  business. 

There  is  a  school  of  financial  writers  who  deny  that 
bank-credits  increase  the  circulating  medium  of  a  nation, 
alleoring  as  a  reason  for  their  belief,   that  no  more  checks 


Scientific  Money.  15 


are  out  at  any  one  time  than  could,  under   normal   condi- 
tions, be  paid  by  the  banks  on  demand. 

The  statement  that,  under  normal  conditions,  banks 
are  able  to  cash,  on  demand,  all  checks  in  force  at  any  one 
time,  may  or  may  not  be  true,  without  disproving  the  fact 
that  bank-credits  act  as  a  most  effective  medium  of  ex- 
change, and  that  a  bank-credit,  under  normal  conditions, 
is  as  much  the  commercial  equivalent  of  currency,  as  ihe 
non-leg  al-iender  hank  note  of  par  value  is  the  commercial 
equivalent  of  legal-tender  coin.  The  fact  is  that  the  great 
bulk  of  checks  and  drafts  are  not  presented  for  currency 
payment.  They  are 'deposited'  as  cash;  treated  as  cash: 
and  command  interest  as  cash.  In  fact,  only  a  small  're- 
serve'' is  required  to  pay  in  currency  the  small  percentage 
of  checks  and  drafts  which  are  presented  for  actual  pay- 
ment.    To  make  this  clear  let  us  return  to  the  illustration 

of  X's  bank: — Before  the  bank  opened,  only  A B C 

D E— — and X  had  currency   with    which    to 

gratify  their  wants.      F G and H  had  property 

but  no  currency.    A B C D E and X 

had  but  '^10,000  in  currency   before  the   bank   opened,  yet 

immediately  thereafter,  F G and II  borrow  from 

X  a  nifdium-of -exchange  to  the  extent  of  $15,000,  without 
exhausting  the  supj^ly,  or  impairing   the    bank's   capital. 

The  idea  that  checks  and  drafts  are  orders  on  banks 
for  money,  and  that  they  act  simpl}'  in  facilitating  the 
handling  of  currency,  is  an  erroneous  one.  A  bank  check 
directs  a  bank  to  pay  currency,  if  currency  is  required, 
otherwise  to  transfer  a  credit  to  the  j)crson  ptresenting 
the  check  duly  endorsed.  In  this  manner  a  small  quanity 
of  currency  and  a  large  volume  of  credit  constitutes  the 
medium  by  means  of  which  exchanges  are  effected,  and,  as 
a  medium  of  exchange,  both  command  equal  rates  of  inter- 
est. 


16 


Scientific  Money, 


The  following  table  and  comments,  taken  from  the 
National  Economist  Almanac,  will  prove  of  interest  in  the 
present  discussion: 

Propobtion  of  Checks  to  Curkenct,  etc.,  in  busines.s  Exchanges. 

[From  the  report  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency.] 

The  total  receipts  of  the  national  banks  in  New  York  City,  in  other  reserve  cities, 

and  of  the  banks  elsewhere  in  the  United  States  on  June  30,  1881,  with  the  percen 

tages  thereto  of  gold  coin,  silver  coin,   paper  currency,   and  of  checks,  drafts,  etc., 

were  as  follows: 


Number 
of  banks 

Receips. 

Proportions. 

Gold 
coin 

Silver 
coin. 

Paper 
currency 

Checks. 
drafts,etc 

Npw  York   Citv       .      ... 

48 

187 

1731 

$167,437,759 
77,100,715 
40,175,542 

Per  cent. 
0.27 
0.76 
2.04 

Per  cent. 
0.01 
0.15 

0.77 

Per  cent. 

1.02 

4.71 

15.47 

Per  cent. 

98.70 

Other  reserve  cities 

Banks  elsewhere 

94.38 

81.72 

Total  United  States 

1966 

$284,714,016 

O.65I          0.16 

4.06 

9.5.13 

The  explanation  of  the  above  table  is  that  out  of  every  $100  in  business  transac- 
ons,  $95.13  is  done  with  checks  and  drafts,  and  $4,87  in  cash-  When  we  understand 
that  only  one  man  in  about  1260  has  a  bank  accoun  t,  we  can  realize  the  power  of 
money  in  the  struggle  for  life.  Besides  this,  these  checks  and  drafts  are  the  most 
expensive  currency  possible,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  dangerous,  as  it  can  be 
expanded  or  contracted  to  suit  the  plan  or  whim  of  its  owners. 

I 

That  private  banks  of  issue  are  a  great  convenience  to 
a  people  who  are  dependent  upon  the  precious  metals  for 
a  legal-tender  currency  must  be  conceded;  but  it  is  indis- 
putable that  the  one  immediate  cause  of  industrial  depres- 
sion, of  the  impoverishment  of  the  many,  and  of  the  in- 
equitable distribution  of  wealth,  is  the  failure  of  govern- 
ments to  provide  national  currency  in  adequate  volume. 
The  failure  of  Congress  to  provide  a  circulating  medium  in 
quanity  equal  to  the  needs  of  trade  at  a  nominal  cost, — 
as  it  now  provides  a  fraction  of  thai  which  is  required — 
enables  those  who  shrewdly  dictate  financial  legislation  to 
supply  the  deficiency  and  to  exact  for  its  use  that  which  is 
called— Interest. 


SciEvriFic  Money.  17 


When  it  is  considered  that  this  'deficiency"  constitutes 
fully  90  per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  used,  and  that  the 
present  annudl  interest-charge  against  society  for  the  use 
of  this  product  oflegislafion  exceeds  in  amount  the  total 
value  of  the  yearly  surplus  products  of  toil,  it  becomes  ap- 
j)arent  that  both  justice  and  expediency  demand  the  imme- 
diate establishment  of  a  national  system  of  finance    which 

will    ANNIHILATE    INTEREST  FOE  THE  USE  OF  AN"  INDISPENSA- 
BLE CIRCULATING  MEDIUM, 

It  is  an  astounding  fact  that  for  centuries  men  have 
piid  'interest'  for  the  use  of  a  circulating  medium  under 
the  erroneous  impression  that  they  were  thereby  legiti- 
mately compensating  the  owner  for  the  use  of  Capital^ 
This  belief  necessarily  proves  fatal  to  the  interests  of  all 
who  labor;  (*)  and  it  is  the  prevalence  of  this  false  idea  that 
for  3000  years  has  enabled  the  non-producing  classes  of  so- 
ciety to  Zatc/?(ZZ^  subsist  upon  the  fruit  of  others'  toil. 
Interest  eor  the  use  of  money  is  not  compensation" 
FOR  THE  USE  OF  CAPITAL.  //  IS  tribute  for  the  use  of  legal- 
tender,  legally  exacted  from  the  industrious  through  the 
operation  of  ingenious  legislation, 

The  distinction  between  the  act  of  compensating  the 
owner  for  the  use  of  capital,  and  that  of  payit)g interest  for 
the  use  of  money,  while  well  defined,  is  not  readily  dis- 
cernible. It  is  determined  by  the  conditions  governing 
each  transaction  in  which  one  man  uses  the  capital  of  an- 
other. While  it  is  true  that  money  is  capital,  yet  it  is  not 
as  capital  that  it  commands  'interest.'  Money  commands 
interest  by  reason  of  the  performance  by  it  of  two  distinct 
offices;  viz: 


Note  (*) — The  labor  here  referred  to  is  that  which  beueflts  socie- 
ty. There  are  two  kinds:---that  which  benefits,  tiud  that  which  i.i- 
jurjs. 


IS  Scientific  Money. 

1.  That  of  a  circulating  medium. 

2.  That  of  a  legah'zed  debt-paying  agency. 

It  commands  interest  as  a  circulating  medium  because j. 
in  the  complexity  of  society,  exclicmges  cannot  he  readily 
effected  without  it.  It  commands  interest  as  a  debt-paying 
agency  because  of  the  provisions  of  statutory  laws  which 
require  all  legal  obligations  to  be  paid  at  maturity  in  legal- 
tender  currency.  Legal  obligations  therefore  are  not  law- 
fully payable  in  icealth;  they  must  be  discharged  by  means 
of  a  legal-tender  representative  of  wealth.  This  law 
makes  legal-tender  curr'cncy  a  necessity  to  all  who  pay 
taxes  or  have  maturing  obligations.  Restrict  the  issue  of 
the  'representative'  to  the  monetization  of  one  or  both  of 
the  'precious  metals/  on  any  pretext^  and  legal-tender  nec- 
essarily commands  'interest'  because  of  its  scarcity.  Were 
legal  obligations  lawfully  payable  in  the  various  forms  of 
wealth,  money  would  not  command  interest  as  a  debt-pay- 
ing agency;  and,  likewise,  were  the  legal-tender  represen- 
tative readily  obtainable:  that  is  to  say,  were  currency  is- 
sued by  government,  at  cost,  to  owners  of  suitable  wealth 
generally,  (as  it  is  now  issued  to  owners  of  certain  forms 
of  wealth;  viz:— bullion  and  government  bonds,)  money 
would  not  command  'interest' as  a  circulating  medium. 
In  other  words: — If  ttie  laiv  were  changed,  the  vast  major- 
ity of  those  who  now  borrow  the  'available  representative' 
from  iDrivate  sources  at  current  interest  rates,  would  use  a 
legal-tender  representative  of  their  own  eligible  wealth,  ob- 
tained from  the  source  of  the  supply,  and  upon  the  same 
terms  as  that  for  which  they  now  pay  'interest'  was  original- 
ly issued;  namely,  without  interest,  and  at  a  nominal  cost. 

Conclusive  evidence  in  support  of  the  assertion  that 
men  do  not  borrow  because  they  wish  the  use  of  money  as 
capitcd  is  supplied  in  the  fact  that  currency  is  loaned  by 
the  banks  to  those  only  who  can  jDledge  capital  as  securi- 
ty for  its  return. 


Scientific  Money.  19 


CHAPTER  III. 

Havin<2:  shown  that  currency  is  not  the  common  'me- 
diura-of-exchange,'  it  becomes  necessary,  in  order  to  make 
evident  the  practicability  of  the  legislative  measnre  herein- 
after proposed,  to  demonstrate  also  that  it  is  not  the  com- 
mon 'measure-of-value.'  To  establish  this  fact,  is  to  over- 
throw an  almost  universally  accepted  theory  of  money; 
namely: — That  fhe  volume  of  currency  in  circulaiion,  de- 
termines the  price  of  commodities  and  propcrtij.  This 
theory  although  endorsed  by  the  most  distinguished  writers 
on  jDolitical  economy  is  undoubtedly  fallacious. 

Before  stating  the  reasons  which  justify  this  conclu- 
sion, the  views  of  some  of  the  most  noted  adherents  of  this 
— THE  QUANTITATIVE — theory  of  money  will  be  briefly 
given. 

John  Stuart  Mill,  in  Principles  of  Political  Economy, 
says : — 

"That  an  increase  in  the  quantity  of  money  raises  prices,  and  a  di- 
minution lowers  them,  is  the  most  elementary  proposition  in  the  theo- 
ry of  currency,  and  without  it  we  should  have  no  key  to  any  other. 

If  the  wliole  money   in   circulation   was  doubled,    prices 

would  double.  If  it  was  increased  one-fourth,  prices  would  rise  one- 
fourth  So  that  the  value  of  money---all  other  things  re- 
maining^ the  same--  varies  inversely  as  its  quantity;  every  increase  in 
quantity  lowerin<r  its  value,  and  every  diminution  raising  it  in  a  ratio 
exactly  equivalent." 

David  Ricardo,  an  eminent  Euglish  authority  says; — 

"That  commodities  would  rise  and  fall   in  price  in  proportion  to 
the  increase  or  diminution  of  money,  I  assume  as  a  fact  that  is  incon 
rovertible.     That  such  would  be  the  case,  the  most  celebrated  writers 
on  political  economy  are  agreed." 


20  Scientific  Money. 

Henry  Cernuschi,  a  distinguished  French  writer,  says: 

"The  law  of  leg'ai-tender  gives  value  to  money,  and  that  value  is 
increased  or  diminished  in  proportion  as  it's  value  is  greater  or  less." 

Prof.  Francis  Bowen,  an  American  author,  says: — 

"All  exchange  is  a  barter  of  merchandise  for  money;  and  the 
quantity  of  money  which  an  article  of  merchandise  will  command  in 
the  market  is  termed  its  price.  Increase  that  quantity,  and  the  price 
of  all  articles  inevitably  rises  ;  diminish  it,  and  the  price  as  certainly 
falls." 

Adam  Smith,  in  The  Wealth  of  Nations,  says: — 

"Prom  the  high  or  low  money  price  either  of  goods  in  general,  or 
of  corn  (wheat)  in  particular,  we  can  infer  only  that  the  mines 
which  at  that  time  happened  to  supply  the  commercial  world  with 
gold  and  silver  were  fertile  or  barren." 

Of  later  writers  Senator   Stewart,   of  Nevada,  in  a  re- 
cent work — Silver  and  the  Science  of  Money,  says: — 

"An  addition  to  the  circulation  increases  the  supply  of  money, 
and  (the  demand  remaining  the  same)  reduces  the  value  of  each  dollar 
or  unit  of  money." 

In  a  recent  speech  delivered  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate (May  1890)  Senator  John  P.  Jones,  of  Colorado,  said: — 

"It  is  an  axiom  of  political  economy  that  no  amount  of  increase 
in  the  number  of  units  of  money  in  a  country  increases  the  aggregate 
value  of  the  money  of  that  country." 

Geo.  C.  Ward,  in  'A  Better  Financial  System,'  says: — 

"If  the  volume  of  money  stands  100  and  prices  25,  or  four  to  one, 
an  increase  in  volume  of  money  to  200  simply  raises  prices  to  50  and 
the  proportion  remains  as  before,  four  to  one." 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  these  quotations  the  position  is 
unequivocally  taken  that— The  greater  the  volume  of  cur- 
rency in  circulation,  the  higher  will  he  the  price  of  com- 
modities and  property . 


Scientific  Money.  21 


This  theory,  although  apparently  justified  by  expe- 
rience, is  nevertheless  fallacious,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
following  reasoning: 

Theoretically,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  'cheap'  or 
Mear'  money;  i.  e. — money  of  varying  value.  There  are 
high  and  low-priced  commodities  and  property  only;  the 
'dollar,'  the  'pound.'  the  'franc,'  the  'rupee,'  etc.,  remaining 
ever  the  unchanging  unit — one.  In  fact,  all  purchases  are 
made,  and  all  obligritions  are  liquidated  with  ivealih^  in  its 
various  forms;  the  medium  called  currency  acting  simply 
as  a  convenient  agency  (or  go-between)  in  consummating 
the  transaction.  Currency,  however,  being  indispensable 
in  facilitating  exchanges,  when  restricted  in  volume^  com- 
mands 'interest'  as  a  circulating  medium.  If  it  were  pro- 
vided by  government  in  adequate  volume,  i.  e.,  in  supply 
equal  to  the  legitimate  demand  therefor  at  a  nominal  cost, 
it  would  cease  to  command  interest  as  a  circulating  me- 
dium, an  1,  as  a  cjusojaenze,  it  wjidd  ca:iie  to  cjristitule 
a  factor  in  affecting  the  jirice  of  commodities  and  proper- 
ty. It  is  because  society  has  never  yet  been  blessed  with  a 
circulation  equal  to  its  needs,  therefore,  that  the  currency 
volume  seemingly  determines  price.  Since  the  conception 
of  the  legal-tender  idea,  the  money  volume  of  civilized  na- 
tions has  been  wrongfully  restricted  by  legislation  through 
the  subtle  influence  of  the  great  monied  capitalists  of  the 
world,  whose  interests,  as  creditors  (of  both  individuals 
and  of  nations)  demand  a  circumscribed  volume  of  legal- 
tender.  This  powerful  influence  has  ever  been  active  in 
promulgating  the  plausible  'intrinsic-value'  theory  of  mon- 
ey, for  the  reason,  that  to  confine  the  national  issue  of 
legal-tender  to  the  coinage  of  the  rare  precious  metals,  is 
to  gain  the  assistance  of  N.\TURE  in  making  'money'  (i.  e. 
legal-tender)  command  'interest.'  An  adequate  motive 
for  such  activity  is  not  wiating:— r/iase  who  live  upon  the 
interest  of  money  ^  subsist  upon  the  fruit  of  other's  toil. 


22  Scientific  Money. 

It  was  this  potent  influence  that  caused  the  surrepti- 
tious demonetization  of  silver  in  the  United  States  in  1873 
upon  the  development  of  the  prolific  mines  of  Colorado 
and  Nevada;  as  it  caused  the  demonetization  of  gold  in 
Europe  in  1853-7,  when  the  discoveries  in  California  and 
Australia  threatened  a  too  abundant  supply  of  gold. 


That  which  'measures'  the  value  of  prcjDerty  is  not  the 
currency  volume,  but — demand.  When  the  exchangeable 
value  of  the  article  is  determined  by  demand,  the  jjrice  is 
expressed  in  'dollars,'  or  in  fractions  thereof;  but  only 
when  the  volume  is  unduly  restricted,  does  either  money 
or  currency  constitute  a  factor  even  in  determining  price. 

The  abnormal  demand  which  is  created  by  law  for 
that  which  will  legally  discharge  interest-bearing  obliga- 
tions, renders  it  necessary  for  those  having  maturing  ob- 
ligations to  buy  legal-tender  (with  services  or  labor  prod- 
ucts) with  which  to  meet  the  same.  As  legal- tender  is  not 
readily  obtainable  by  those  to  whom  it  is  thus  made  a  nes. 
essiiy,  a  saciifice  of  value  ensues  in  the  procedure  of  ob- 
taining it  (from  those  who  possess  the  insufficient  supply) 
which  materially  affects  the  general  range  of  prices. 

The  j)riraal  cause  of  low  prices  for  such  articles  as  are 
commonly  used,  arises,  however,  not  so  much  because  the 
present  currency  volume  is  not  sufficiently  plentiful^  as 
from  the  fact  that  owing  to  the  manner  of  its  issue,  curren- 
cy is  obtainable  only  upon  conditions  which  destroy  or  im- 
pair that  which  may  be  termed,  ahility-to-pjircliase  in  the 
industrial  classes  of  society.  Continuous  low  prices  for 
the  necessaries  of  life  invariably  accompany  a  large  and  in- 
creasing volume  of  public  and  p>rivate  indebfedness.  The 
interest-charge  which  annually  accrues  thereon  absorbs  the 
surplus  wealth  produced  by  industry,  which  "s  thus  trans- 
ferred to  a  small  class  of  monied   capitalists   through    the 


Scientific  Money.  28 


medium  of  interest  payments.  The  necessity  of  meeting 
the  maturing  coupon,  prevents  the  direct  interest-payer 
from  purchasing  freely  of  the  product  of  others'  toil  in  the 
gratification  of  his  wants,  and  hence  low  prices  and  a 
seeming  overproduction  of  useful  articles  because  of  a  gen- 
eral inahilify  to  purchase.  Thus,  through  the  direct  and 
indirect  payment  of  interest  for  the  use  of  an  essential  cir- 
culating medium,  results  industrial  paralysis  and  its  at- 
tendant evils;  all  useful  members  of  society  being  com- 
pelled to  contribute  from  their  earnings  to  the  fund  upon 
which  the  non-producing  classes  subsist. 

As  the  interest  charge  which  annually  accrues  on  mu- 
nicipal, corporate,  and  national  indebtedness  is  paid 
through  an  indirect  tax  on  the  consumer,  there  are  none 
who  escape  the  penalty  incident  to  an  unenlightened  finan- 
cial system. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  public  and  private  indebted- 
ness of  the  people  of  the  United  States  which  in  1878  ag- 
gregated about  twelve  thousand  million  dollars,  has  in- 
creased so  rapidly  that  it  is  now  not  less  than  $32,000,000, 
000.  At  an  average  interest  rate  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum 
on  this  sum,  the  annual  interest-charge  against  society 
would  amount  to  $1,920,000,000,  or  a  sum  exceeding  the 
value  of  the  agricultural  and  mineral  products  of  the  na- 
tion for  the  year  1893. 

The  following  statistics  relating  to  the  public  debt  of 
the  United  States  Government,  for  which  the  writer  is  in- 
debted to  the  National  Economist  Almanac,  are  instructive 
as  illustrating  the  amount  of  interest  which  is  indirecthj 
paid  by  the  consumers  of  the  United  States  on  the  nation- 
al indebtedness  alone.  They  disclose  the  amazing  fact  that 
the  public  debt  has  been  diminished  only  when  the  estimate 
is  ex^Dressed  in  'dollars;'  that  in  fact,  more  ivealth  would 
be  recjuired  to  liquidate  the  debt  to-day  that  it  would  have 


24 


Scientific  Money. 


required  at  the  close  of  the  war,  notwithstanding  the  pay- 
ment thereon  of  principal  and  interest  amounting  to  more 

than  THREE  AND  ONE"  HALF  BILLION  DOLLARS. 

Although  these  contributions  are  in  the  form  of  an 
indirect  tax  on  the  consumer,  yet  they  are  paid  from  the 
earnings  of  toil,  and  consequently  impair  the  contributor's 
ability -io-pur chase  to  the  same  extent  as  would  a  direct 
tax. 


Table  showing  the  increase  of  the  national  debt  if  paid  in 

farm  prodlx'ts. 

Debt  in  18G6,  $2,783,000,000.  Debt  in  1889,  $1,693,000,000. 


PRODUCT.S   NECESSARY  TO   PAT  THE   DEBT 
AS   PER   PRICES   FGR  THE  TEARS  NAMED. 

Attouut  1866 

Amount  1889. 

Showing  ac- 
tual increase 
of 

Keef— barrels 

Pork— barrels 

129,000,000 

87,000.00 

1, 007,000, oo( 

8,262,000,00" 

2,218.000,000 

7,092,000,000 

213,307,000 

24,110,000 

211.625.000 

141.0a3,.8.33 

2,156,2.50,000 

5,642,666,000 

3,761,000,000 

16,930.000000 

483,800.000 

42,325.000 

82,625,000 

54,083,333 

1,149,250,000 

2.-380,316,000 

1  543. OOP. Of  o 

Wheat— bushels 

Oats— bushels 

Corn — bushels .            .       .   .   . 

Cotton — pounds,  1867 

9.838,000,000 

270,493,000 

18,215,000 

Co'il — tons 

Bariroji— tons 

By  referring  to  another  table  in  this  Almanac,  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  paid  on 
the  principal  of  the  public  debt  $1,080,000,000.  and  as  interest  on  same  $2.462,000,00(\ 
and  a  further  sum  of  $36,000,000.  as  premiums  on  bonds  purchased:  amounting  in  all 
to  $3,578,000,000.  Yet  we  find  the  debt  of  the  nation  has  actually  increased  if  paid  in 
the  labor  and  products  of  the  people  (any  person  of  ordinary  intelligence  knows  it 
cannot  be  paid  in  anything  else) ;  that  is  to  say,  it  will  take  more  labor  products  to 
pay  what  we  now  owe  at  present  prices  than  it  would  have  taken  to  pay  the  entire 
indebtedness  in  1866  at  the  prices  then.  By  consulting  other  tables  in  this  Almanac 
it  will  be  learned  that  mortgages  and  all  other  Indebtedness  have  in  like  manner  in. 
creased,  and  their  payment  is  effected  by  the  same  principles.  The  pertinent  ques- 
tion just  here,  is  how  long  will  it  take  the  laboring  people  to  become  homeowners, 
independent,  and  happy,  at  this  rate? 


Scientific  Money.  25 


CHAPTER  IV. 

In  common  parlance  m^ney  is  a  'representative  of 
value,  or  wealth ;'  to  prefix  the  compound  word  legal-tender 
to  this  common  expression  is  to  coin  a  concise  and  perfect 
definition  of  the  term;  to  wit: — Money  is  a  legal-tender 
representative  of  value,  or  wealth. 

This  being  true — Why  should  a  nation  possessing  865, 
000,000,000,  of  wealth,  have  a  money  volume  of  only  one 
and  one-half  hillion  dollars? 

If  money  is  a  legal-tender  representative  of  wealth, — 
why  may  not  more  wealth  have  a  legal-tender  representa- 
tive? Whose  interests  are  promoted  by  national  legisla- 
tion whereby  less  than  2|  per  cent,  of  the  aggregate  wealth 
is  monetized  for  exchangeable  purposes?  Certainly  the 
present  system  cannot  be  perpetuated  in  the  interest  of  so- 
ciety, to  whom  a  circulating  medium  is  a  necessity!  Nor  can 
it  be  perpetuated  at  the  instigation  of  those  whose  matur- 
ing obligations  are  payable  in  legil-tenler!  Who  then  are 
the  beneficiaries  of  the  present  system?  Can  it  be  that 
eminently  respectable  element  of  society — those  who  '"'toil 
not,  neiitier  do  theij  s^;/«?" 

Query: — If  legal-tender  certificates  representing  value 
in  certain  metals  constitute  an  effective  circulating  medium, 
why  would  not  legal-tender  certificates  representing  other 
enduring  and  appropriate  forms  of  value  prove  equally  ef- 
fective and  beneficial? 

T.isre  is   no  valid  reason  why  they  would  7iot.* 


(*)  Legal-tender  land  currencj'  (not  redeemable  in  coin)  was  is- 
issued  by  the  common  wealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  1731  and  lemained 
at  par  with  gold  for  30  years,  because  it  was  invested  with  all  the  legal 
attributes  of  coin.  See  the  authors  "Metallic  Money  and  Hard 
Times;"  pp  38-29. 


26  Scientific  Money. 

Of  all  forms  of  valua.  that  which  is  b23t  suited  to  serve 
as  a  basis  for  the  issue  of  national  currency  in  adequate 
volume  is: — productive  real  estate — at  a  safe  arbitmry 
valuation.  Land  values  may  act  as  a  basis  for  the  issue  of 
currency,  at  a  conservative  valuation,  without  in  any  man- 
ner conflicting^  with  the  uses  for  which  land  is  naturally 
adaj)ted;  and,  ic'dhout  conferring  upon  ike  direct  recipi- 
ent of  the  currency  a  special  advantage  over  other  citi- 
zens. This  cannot  be  said  of  either  of  the  so-called  pre- 
cious metals.  The  present  valuation  of  gold  is  an  arbitra- 
ry valuation,  far  in  excess  of  its  natural  value  as  a  com- 
modity. We  arbitrarily  value  gold  when  by  legal  decree 
we  declare  that  25.8  grains,  9-10  fine,  shall,  when  coined, 
possess  exchangeable  value  equal  to  100  cents  worth  of 
other  forms  of  wealth;  and  although  other  nations  do  like- 
wise, it  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  the  'coining'  of  the 
precious  metals  and  the  imparting  to  them,  alone,  of  the 
legal-tender  function,  has  been  a  practice  for  which  the 
industrial  classes  of  society,  have  ever  paid  dearly.  This 
for  the  reason  that  the  arbitrary  valuation  of  these  metals 
at  the  legal  ratio  has  baea  flagrantly  artifi3ial  and  fictitious. 
This  assertion  is  partially  verified  by  the  present  price  of 
silver,  which,  since  its  demonetization  in  1873,  has  declined 
until  at  present  its  commodity  value  is  only  about  one-half 
its  currenc}'  value.  Had  silver  not  been  demonetized  it 
would  still  retain  the  fictitious  value  it  enjoyed  in  1873, 
an  1,  but  for  its  recent  demonetization  in  Europe  and  India, 
it  would  still  command  a  premium  over  gold  equal  to  the 
difference  between  the  ratios  at  which  the  metals  were 
c Dined  by  the  mints  of  Europe  and  America;  i.  e. — the  dif- 
ference between  15^  to  1,  the  European  ratio,  and  16  to  1^ 
the  ratio  in  the  United  States — a  difference  of  about  3  per 
cent.  As  to  gold:  although  the  assertion  is  necessarily  of 
a  conjectural    character,  yet  there  can    be  no   reasonable 


Scientific  Money.  27 


doubt,  that  should  the  countries  which  have  demonetized 
silver  also  demonetize  the  yellow  fetich,  the  effect  upon 
the  market  value  of  gold  would  jirove  far  more  disastrous 
than  it  has  upon  that  of  silver.     (*) 

With  land  as  the  basis  for  the  issue  of  national  cur- 
rency, the  abuses  incident  to  the  over-valuation  of  the  pre- 
si'ious  metals  would  be  obviated  as  the  valuation  of  land  for 
currency  purposes  would  be  entirely  independent  of  its  nat- 
ural value  for  productive  or  other  uses.  In  fact,  under 
the  provisions  of  the  following  proposed  legislative  meas- 
ure, society  at  large  would  be  the  beneficiary  of  a  benefi- 
cent money  system,  to  the  maintenance  of  which  none  but 
land  owners  would  contribute.  Further  comment  on  the 
provisions  of  the  measure  will  follow  the  text  of  the  Bill 
which  is  as  follows: — 


An  Act   to  Utilize   Land  Values  as  a  Money  Basis! 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Seuate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Coni^rress  assembled:— 
Section  t.  That  upon  the  passage  of  this  act,  any  person  having  pos- 
session and  ownership  in  fee  simple  of  any  improved  real 
estate  in  any  state  of  the  United  States,  by  a  clear,  obvious 
and  perfect  title,  and  who  is  competent  to  convey  the  same, 
shall,  upon  the  conditions  hereinafter  prescribed,  be  entitled 
to  receive  from  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  an  issue 
of  national  currency  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  the  pres- 
ent assessed  valuation  of  the  lot  or  tract  upon  which  such 
issue  is  desired:  the  currency  so  issued  to  constitute  a  legal 
representative  of  the  value  thus  monetized,  and  to  be  a  le- 
gal-tender at  its  face  value  in  payment  of  all  debts,  public 
and  private. 

(*)    For  the  reasoning  upon  which  this  statement  is  based  see  the 
author's  pamphlet  "Metallic  Money  and  Hard  Times,"  pp  23-26. 
(f)    See  note  A  appendix. 


28  Scientific  Money 


Section  3.    To  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  ol  this  act,   the  presi- 
dent, by  and  with  the  advice   and  consent  of  the  senate, 
shall  appoint  in    each    county  a  resident  commissioner, 
learned  in  the  law,  and  duly  entitled  to  practice  in  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  state  to  which  he  belongs,  who,  as  fiscal 
agent  of  the  national  treasury,  shall   transact   the  business 
required  of  him  by  this  act,  and  to  whom   applications  for 
an  issue  of  currency  upot.  real  estate  in  his.  county  shall  be 
made:  and  he  shall  receive,  as  compensation  for  his  services 
a  salary  of  two  thousand  and  four  hundred  dollars  annu- 
ally.    (*) 
Section  3.    To  obtain  an  issue  of  currency  under  this  act,  the  appli- 
cant must  file  with  the  commissioner  for  the  county  within 
which  his  really  is  located  an  application  in  writing,  setting 
forth: 

(1.)  The  name  in  full  and  postoflJice  address  of  the  appli - 
cant— and  of  consort  if  married;  (3.)  The  legal  description 
of  the  lot  or  tract  of  land  for  which  a  currency  representa- 
tive is  desired;  (3.)  The  county  and  state  in  which  the 
same  is  located;  (4.)  The  nature  of  the  occupancy,  and  the 
relation  of  the  occupant's  interest  to  that  of  the  applicant ; 
(5.)  The  kind  of  improvements;  (6.)  The  value  of  the 
premises;  (7.)  The  value  of  the  land  exclusive  of  improve- 
ments; (8.)  The  official  valuation  of  the  premises  for  taxa  • 
tion  for  the  year  1894,  *  as  evidenced  by  the  public  records 
of  the  county  or  municipality  within  which  it  is  situated; 
(9.)    The  amount  of  currency  desired. 

A  written  abstract,  certified  by  the  proper  custodians  of  the 
records  of  the  same,  showing  the  applicant  to  have  such  ti . 
tie  to  the  real  estate  described  as  is  required  by  the  first  sec- 

(*)  Note:  Certain  details  are  intentionally  omitted;  such  as,  the 
giving  of  bond  by  the  commissioners,  provisions  for  necessary  clerical 
assistance,  safeguards  in  the  certification  of  title  abstracts  by  county 
officials,  etc.  They  are  not  essential  in  the  draft  of  a  bill  designed  to 
illustrate  a  system. 

»  It  i.<  proposed  to  constitute  the  assessed  valuation  of  productive  real  estate 
for  the  year  1894  a  permanent  arbitrary  valuation  of  the  same  for  the  pBrpose  of  a 
currency  issue. 


Scientific  Money.  29 


tion  of  this  act,  shall  accompany  each  applicatiou.  (*) 
Section  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  commissioner  to  examine,  in 
the  order  in  which  they  are  received,  all  appli- 
cations and  the  real  estate  described  therein;  he  shall  verify 
the  correctness,  truth,  and  sufficiency  of  the  representations 
made,  and  the  sufficiency  of  the  respective  titles;  he  shall 
reject  all  cases  of  unproductive  real  estate,  and  all  cases  of 
excessive  valuation,  and  certify  to  the  Treasurer  of  the 
United  States  such  applications,  with  the  accompanying  ti- 
tle abstract,  as  he  finds  to  conform  with  the  provisions  of 
this  act;  provided:— That  where  it  shall  appear  from  an  ex- 
amination of  premises  upon  which  an  issue  of  currency  is 
applied  for,  that  the  value  of  the  improvements  exceeds  the 
value  of  the  land,  the  issue  of  currency  thereon  shall  not  ex- 
ceed such  a  proportion  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  premises 
as  the  value  of  the  realty,  exclusive  of  improvements,  bears 
to  the  total  assessed  value. f 
Section  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  United  States  Treasurer  to 
cause  all  applications  re,:;ularly  submitted  to  him  to  be  ex- 
amined by  expert  examiners  qualified  to  pass  upon  the  va- 


(*)    See  note  B  Appendix. 

f  The  purpose  of  this  act  is  to  monetize  the  value  of  prodactive 
real  estate,  exclusive  of  improvements,  and  to  provide  for  as  liberal 
an  issue  of  currency  in  each  instance  as  is  consistent  with  public  safe- 
ty. Inasmuch  as  the  present  assessed  valuation  of  real  estate  throuifh  - 
out  the  country  is  equal  to  about  40  per  cent,  of  a  fair  valuation 
thereof,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  currency  issue  equal  to  the  present  as- 
sessed value  could  advaniageously  be  made  in  all  cases  where  the  val- 
ue of  the  improvements  do  not  materially  exceed  the  value  of  the  bare 
land.  To  illustrate:— Take  a  business  lot  worth  $5001)  u[ion  which 
there  is  a  building  worth  an  equal  sum— $5000.  Total  value  of  the 
property  $10,000.  At  40  per  cent  of  the  above  actual  value,  the  as- 
sessed value  for  taxable  purposes  would  be  $4000,  or  the  sum  to  which 
the  owner  of  the  premises  would  be  entitled.  When  the  fact  is  con- 
sidered that  the  increased  issue  of  currency  would  necessarily  enhance 
the  present  value  of  all  productive  real  estate  it  will  be  seen  that  a 
currency  issue  of  $4000  could  safely  be  made  in  the  iustance  cited. 


30  Scientific  Money. 

lidity  of  the  same,  and  to  endorse  his  approval  upon  such  as 
are  in  accordance  with  this  act.  Such  Treasurer  shall  file 
and  keep  a  record  of  applications  thus  approved,  and  shall 
transmit  to  the  proper  commissioner,  and  to  the  applicant, 
official  notice  of  such  approval. 
Section  6.  The  commissioner,  upon  receiving  official  notification 
of  the  Treasurer's  approval  of  any  application  made  to  him, 
shall,  if  the  condition  of  the  title  remains  unchanfjed,  take 
a  written  obligation  and  conveyance  of  the  real  estate,  duly 
executed  by  the  applicant,  and  jointly  with  the  husband  or 
wife  of  the  applicant  if  married,  in  favor  of  the  United 
States,  with  conditions  and  provisions  as  follows: 

I.  That  a  sum  equivalent  to  the  currency  received  by  the 
applicant  shall  be  returned  to  the  United  States  Treasury  when 
the  same  shall  no  longer  be  desired  for  use  as  a  circulating  me- 
dium. 

II.  That  until  such  currency  is  returned,  the  applicant,  his 
heirs  or  assigns,  will  pay  to  the  national  treasury  on  the  fir«t 
day  of  each  year  a  sum  equal  to  two  per  cent,  per  annum  on  the 
amount  of  currency  received, 

III.  That  the  obligation  thus  executed  shall  constitute  a 
first  and  primary  lien  upon  the  realty  described,  until  the  con- 
ditions of  the  same  are  duly  complied  with. 

IV.  That  so  long  as  the  payment  of  two  per  cent,  per  an- 
num on  the  currency  received  by  the  applicant  shall  be  promptly 
made,  the  obligation  shall  not  mature;  but  in  ease  of  default  of 
such  annual  payment  at  the  maturity  thereof,  such  obligation 
shall  be  subject  to  foreclosure  for  the  full  amount  thereof,  and 
the  premises  upon  which  the  obligation  is  a  lien  may  be  sold  to 
satisfy  the  same. 

Section  7.  Immediately  upon  the  execution  of  such  obligation 
the  commissioner  shall  make,  and  keep  in  his  office  for  pub- 
lic inspection,  a  registry  of  the  same,  duly  indexed,  which 
registry  shall  impart  notice  to  all  persons  of  the  contents 
thereof;  and  the  title  and  right  so  acquired  by  the  United 
States  shall  be  prior  and  superior  to  any  lien  or  claim  of  the 
state,  or  any  nmuicipality  thereof,  and  of  all  persons  what- 
soever. 


Scientific  Money.  31 


Section  8,  Upou  the  rei^istration  of  such  obliii^iition  the  commis- 
sioner shall  retiiru  and  certify  the  same  to  the  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  who  shall  thereupon  place  to  the  credit 
of  the  applicant  upon  the  books  of  the  national  treasury  a 
sum  equal  to  the  amount  of  liis  obligation;  wliich  credit 
shall  be  payable  on  demand  in  a  nati.)nal  currency  to  be 
provided  by  the  Treasurer,  of  denominations  and  designs 
corresponding  to  the  present  authorized  issue  of  United 
Stales  Treasury  notes.  The  Treasurer  shall  transmit  to  the 
applicant  a  certificate  of  deposit,  payable  to  his  order,  for 
the  amount  of  such  credit,  and  in  case  of 'demand  for  the 
currency,  the  same  may  be  transmitted  by  registered  mail 
at  the  risk  of  the  person  entitled  thereto. 

Section  9.  Any  owner  of  real  estate  upon  whicli  a  currency  repre- 
sentative shall  have  been  issued  as  herein  provided,  may,  at 
his  option,  at  any  time  after  one  year  from  the  issuing  of 
the  same,  return  the  same  into  the  national  treasury,  in 
sums  equal  to  one  fourth,  one  half,  three  fourths  or  the  full 
amount  of  the  original  issue,  and  upon  the  sum  so  returned 
the  annual  charge  of  two  per  cent  shall  cease  from  the  first 
day  of  the  calender  quarter  succeeding  the  date  of  such 
payment.  Upon  repayment  of  the  full  amount  of  the  obli- 
gation, the  Treasurer  shall  execute  a  discharge  thereof 
wliich  shall  be  entered  in  the  registry  of  the  proper  county 
by  the  commissivmer  of  such  county.  Currency  so  returned 
ma}'  be  reissued  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  when 
not  needed  for  such  reissue  the  Treasurer  of  the  United 
States  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  destroyed. 

Section  10.  The  revenues  derived  from  the  operation  of  this  act  shall 
constitute  a  fund  from  which  the  expenses  of  maintaining 
the  system  shall  be  paid,  and  should  the  receipts  exceed  the 
expenditures,  the  surplus  shall  become  available  for  the 
general  expenses  of  the  government. 


B2  Scientific  Money 


CHAPTER  V.  ^ 

Although  the  monetizing  of  land  values  as  proposed 
in  the  foregoing  measure  may  seem  to  the  reader  a  novel 
and  extraordinary  proposition,  ye'o  it  will  become  apparent 
upon  reflection  that  nothing  is  promised  for  the  bill  that 
it  cannot  speedily  accomj)lish.  The  fact  should  be  appre- 
ciated that  land  is  not  proposed  as  a  basis  for  the  issue  of 
currency  for  the  purpose  of  giving  value  to  the  currency; 
a  land  basis  is  introduced  for  the  purpose  only  of  regulat- 
ing the  currency  volume,  and  to  guard  against  an  overis- 
sue. The  currency  would  owe  its  value  (as  does  that  which 
now  circulates)  tothe  demand  that  exists  for  lesal-tender, 
in  which  all  obligations  are  lawfully  liquidated.  Money 
does  not  pass  current,  as  is  generally  supposed,  by  'common 
consent,'  nor  by  'usage,'  nor  because  of  its  material;  nor 
yet,  by  the  fiat  of  government;  as  a  demand  exists  for 
milch-cows,  for  driving  horses,  for  plows,  and  for  useful 
articles  generally,  so  likewise  does  a  demand  exist  for  that 
which  the  law  declares  a  legal -tender;  and  it  is  this,  and 
the  needs  of  society  for  a  circulating  medium,  which  makes 
the  demind  for  'money'  one  that  is  inseparable  from  the 
gratification  of  nearly  every  human  want. 

National  currency  invested  with  the  legal-tender  attri- 
bute, thus  becomes  a  form  of  condensed  value  which,  irre- 
spective of  its  material,  proves  the  most  efPective  and  satis- 
factory medium  for  readily  effecting  exchanges  ever  de 
vised  by  man.  Scientifically  issued,  currency  would  con- 
stitute a  specific  represenfafivo  of  the  monetized  wealth  of 
the  original  recipient.  When  issued  and  in  circulation, 
currency,  lawfully   acquired,    would   constitute  a  legalized 


Scientific  Money.  33 


representative  of  the  imrUcnlar  services  or  property  giv- 
en in  exchange  therefor.  From  this  it  follows:— That  al- 
though legal-tender  paper  issued  by  government  in  pay- 
ment of  its  obligations  circulates  at  par  by  virtue  of  its  ar- 
bitrary debt-paying  power,  and  the  necessities  of  society 
for  a  circulating  medium,  yet,  not  being  issued  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  specific  value  in  property,  the  manner  of  its 
issue  is  unscientific,  arbitrary  and  indefensible;  the  limit 
of  the  volume  being  regulated  solely  by  the  will  of  Con- 
gress irrespective  of  the  principles  which  should  govern 
the  issue  of  so  essential  a  public  agency. 


— Currency,  being  indispensible  to  society,  it  follows: 
— That  society  must  suffer  if  currency  be  not  readily  ob- 
tainable; that  is  to  say— If  the  supply  provided  by  govern- 
ment at  a  nominal  cost  to  the  recipient  be  not  equal  to  the 
legitimate  demand  therefor.  In  other  words: — Society 
must  suffer  if  the  government's  issue  of  currency  be  so  re- 
stricted that  it  is  obtainable  bv  men  generally  only  from 
private  sources  at  current  interest  rates. 


— Money  being  simply  a  legal-tender  representative 
of  value  or  wealth,  it  follows:— That  should  a  demand  ex- 
ist therefor,  the  volume  of  money  may  advantageously 
equal  the  compass  of  such  wealth  as  may  fittingly  have  a 
money  representative.* 

— As  gold  and  silver  bullion  is  nunetlzed  at  an  arbi- 
trary valuation,  through  the  certificate  process,  by  legisla- 

*  Value  which  may  fittin-j^ly  have  a  currency  representative 
would  embrace  such  as  tlie  government  could  safely  receive  as  se- 
curity for  the  issue  of  currency,  and  the  custody  of  which  would  not 
require  especial  attention  in  order  to  preserve  its  value. 


3  4  Scientific  Money. 


tive  decree: — The  decree  only  is  wanting  to  monetize  by 
the  same  process,  at  tin  arbitrary  vahiation,  any  other  form 
of  value  which  is  equally  or  more  eligible  for  the  purpose. 


As  the  enjoyment  of  life  consists  chiefly  in  the  con- 
sumption or  use  of  the  various  products  of  labor,  it  follows 
that  the  more  perfect  the  system  by  means  of  which  such 
products  are  disfribufed;  i.  e. —  IVw  grcafer  ihe  volume  of 
legal-fender  currency,  proper, — the  greater  and  more  uni- 
versal will  be  the  measure  of  human  happiness. 


The  following  analogism  will  serve  to  elucidate  the 
Land  Currency  Theory: 

A.  owns  a  gold  brick  weighing  50  lbs.  worth  $15,000, 
which  represents  his  earnings  and  constitutes  his  entire 
capital.  B.  owns  a  section  of  land  worth  $15,000,  which 
represents  his  earnings  and  constitutes  his  entire  capital. 
Each  wish  to  use  5000  'dollars.'  That  is  to  say: — hoili 
icish  fo  vse  a  poriion  of  their  earnings  in  the  gratificaiion 
of  their  icants.  Neither  can  readily  use  his  capital  in  its 
present  form.  If  either  had  5000  'dollars'  he  would  be 
able  to  'buy'  $5000  worth  of  that  which  others  would  like 
to 'sell.'  Wh.at  both  A.  and  B.  require  in  order  to  gratify 
their  wants,  in  complex  society,  is  a  legal-tender  represen- 
tati've  ot  wealth;  i,  e. — ^an  available  circulating  medium. 
Both  have  the  wealth: — How  may  they  obtain  the  repre- 
sentative? Under  present  statutory  regulations,  A.  may 
take  one-third  of  his  wealth  to  the  'mint'  and,  upon  depos- 
iting the  same  with  the  comptroller,  obtain  thereon  $5000 
in  currency,  which  he  may  return  at  any  time  he  may  pre- 
fer the  bullion  to  the  use  of  the  currency.  As  no  interest 
is  charged  by  the   g  )vernraent   for  the  use  of   legal-tender 


Scientific  Money.  35 


certificates  representing  value  in  gold,  A.  obtains  his  cur- 
rency at  a  nominal  cost.  How  maj^  B.  obtain  an  available 
representative  of  his  wealth  for  exchangeable  purposes V 
Under  present  regulations,  B.  must  obtain  his  'currency' 
from  private  sources  at  current  rates  of  interest. 

What  does  B.  obtain  when  he  borrows  'money'  from 
private  sources  at  current  interest  rates?  He  obtains,  sim- 
ply, metallic  or  paper  certificafes,  invested  with  the  legal- 
tender  attribute,  which  were  previously  issued  by  his  gov- 
ernment for  exchangeable  purposes  to  the  original  recipient 
at  a  nominal  cost.  Because  the  volume  of  these  debt  pay- 
ing certificates  is  restricted  by  law,  they  command  'interest.' 

Why  may  not  B.  also  obtain  from  the  government  a 
specifiic  representative  of  such  of  his  own  wealth  as,  in 
character,  is  suitable  for  the  purpose?  There  is  but  one 
reason  why  he  cannot  do  so;  namely: — It  is  not  the  law. 

If  it  were  the  law,  how  would  society  be  affected  there- 
by? Would  such  a  law  confer  a  special  advantage  upon  B. 
as  a  land  owner?  No.  Society  would  be  the  beneficiary 
of  such  a  law.  The  currency  issued  to  B.  would  be  value- 
less to  him  until  he  parted  with  it;  and,  in  this  event,  the 
recipient  and  every  subsequent  recipient  would  become  an 
equal  beneficiary  with  him  to  whom  the  original  issue  was 
direct.  Under  such  a  law.  Government  would  simply  make 
B's  wealth  available  for  e.rchangeable,  or  debt-pa ijing 
purposes,  as  it  does  A's,  and  by  a  similar  process.  Neith- 
er A.  nor  B.  could  use  their  earnings  for  exchangeable  pur- 
poses but  once,  while  the  increased  issue  of  currency  would 
provide  a  circulating  medium  which  would  facilitate  ex- 
changes without  commanding  'interest.'  To  monetize  A's 
wealth  alone,  make«  money  scarce  and  creates  a  demand 
for  credit  devices  with  which  to  effect  exchaiiges.  This 
policy  breeds  interest,'  not  for  the  use  of  capital,  bat  for 
the  use  of  an  indispensable  circulating  medium. 


86  Scientific  Money. 


A.  now  loans  his  certificates  to  B.  at  ruling  interest 
rates  for  the  reason  only  that  B's  government  denies  him  a 
privilege  that  it  accoids  to  A.  If  currency  were  readily 
obtainable  at  a  nominal  cost,  by  those  to  whom  it  should 
be  issued;  namely:— Owners  of  appropriate  values  gener- 
ally, immediate  financial  relief  would  result  from  the  ready 
cash  market  which  such  a  currency  issue  would  create  for 
all  useful  articles,  and  for  the  services  of  those  seeking 
employment. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  Currency. 

Two  objections  have  been  made  to  the  issue  of  Land 
Currency  which  ore  worthy  of  consideration;  to  wit: — 

1.  It  is  claimed  that  the  recipient  of  the  currency 
would  derive  an  especial  benefit  from  having  the  use  of 
both  the  land  and  the  currency. 

2.  That  present  land  owners  would  be  able  to  obtain 
currency  at  a  nominal  cost,  reinvest  the  same  in  land  upon 
which  they  could  obtain  another  currency  issue,  and  thus 
continue  the  process,  fid  ivfinitum. 

In  answer  to  the  first  objection  it  may  be  said  that 
while  possession  of  the  'basis'  would  be  retained  by  the  re- 
cipient of  the  currency,  yet  such  recipients  would  alone 
bear  the  expense  of  a  money  system  which  would  prove  of 
incalculable  benefit  to  society  at  large,  while  the  use  of  the 
currency  by  the  direct  recipient  would  be  a  use  of  the 
same  for  exchnngeaUe  purposes  only.  In  order  to  obtain 
the  currency  the  recipient  parts  with  the  title  to  his  land, 
which  he  can  regain  only  upon  repayment  of  the  sum  re  • 
ceived,  plus- the  annual  payment  thereon  of  two  per  cent 
per  annum.  The  transaction  is  not  one  of  borrowing  and 
lending  money;  it  is  a  method  of  'coining'  land  value  for 
exchangeable  purposes,  as  bullion  value  is  coined  under  the 
present  system.     The  obligation  is  not   a  mortgage,  but  a 


Scientific  Money.  37 


conveyance  of  the  realty  to  the  government,  that  its  value 
may  be  utilized  to  provide  at  cost,  that  for  which  society 
now  pays  'interest.'  The  two  per  cent,  per  annum  is  not 
interest,  but  the  estimated  cost  of  maintainino;  the  svstem. 
Therefore  the  direct  recipient  of  the  currency  would,  prac- 
tically, pay  society  two  per  cent  per  annum,  not  for  the 
use  of  the  currency,  but  for  the  use  of  that  part  of  his 
wealth  which  is  thus  mouetizcd.  It  is  not  class  leL^islation, 
because  the  use  of  the  currency  by  the  recipient  is  not  an 
exclusive  use  of  the  sime.  Land  is  proposed  as  a  basis  for 
the  currency  issue  because  of  its  peculiar  fitness  to  serve 
the  purjDOse;  being  distributed  throughout  every  locality, 
each  community  would  be  able  to  furnish  a  basis  for  cur- 
rency, whereas  at  present,  all  are  dependent  for  legal-ten- 
der upon  the  so-called 'precious  metals/  While  land  owners 
would  be  able  to  obtain  currency  direct  from  the  mint,  (as 
do  gold  owners  under  the  present  system)  yet,  other  prop- 
erty-owners would  as  readily  obtain  currency  from  the 
sale  of  their  surplus  products,  at  lucrative  prices,  in  the 
cash  market  which  would  result  from  the  operation  of  the 
system. 

To  monetize  land  values  is  to  enable  the  land  owner  to 
gratify  his  wants  to  the  extent  of  the  value  monetized;  this 
involves  the  purchase  by  him  of  the  labor  products  of  oth- 
ers with  capital  thus  made  available,  which  can  be  expend- 
ed but  once,  as  the  government  would  hold  a  lien  on  the 
property  for  the  amount  of  currency  supplied.  Inasmuch 
as  there  must  be  an  application  of  labor  to  agricultural 
land  in  order  to  make  j^ossession  of  the  same  valuable,  so- 
ciety, to  whom  the  joint  product  is  essential,  would  be 
benefitted,  rather  than  injured,  l)y  the  use  of  the  'basis'  for 
productive  purposes. 

The  second  objection  as  above  set  forth  is  not  applica- 
ble to  the  principle  that  underlies  the  proposed  legislation. 


389244 


38  Scientific  Money. 

Were  it  possible  for  evil  effects  to  follow  the  issue  of  land 
currency,  upon  the  assumjition  that  the  system  would  fa- 
vor land  monopoly,  the  objection  would  apply,  not  to  legis- 
lation which  would  monetize  land  values,  but  to  laws 
which  permit  a  monopoly  of  land. 

The  chances  are  more  than  a  thousand  to  one  that  the 
reader'  would  be  financially  benefitted  by  the  proposed 
system .  All  who  are  engaged  in  useful  pursuits  would  be 
immeasurably  benefitted,  while  injury  would  result  to  none. 
A  small  percentage  of  society  would  simply  be  deprived  of 
an  advantage  which  they  unjustly  enjoy  under  the  present 
system. 

How  would  the  system  affect  the  interests  of  creditors? 
Would  not  the  payment  of  obligations  in  land  currency  be 
a  repudiation  of  honest  debts?  No.  Obligations  are  not 
repudiated  which  are  liquidated  with  wealth,  or  with  a  le- 
gal representative  thereof.  Obligations  may  be  paid  with 
wealth  without  being  paid  in  gold,  and  this  is  the  purpose 
of  the  proposed  legislation.  We  cannot  pay  in  gold,  but 
we  can  pay  in  wealth,  and  the  proiDOsed  currency,  as  a  le- 
gal-tender representative  of  wealth,  would  be  the  commer- 
cial equivalent  of  either  coin  or  bullion. 

Under  the  proposed  system,  would  not  the  land  owner 
loan  at  10  per  cent,  per  annum,  the  currency  thus  obtained 
by  him  at  two?  He  would  if  he  could  doubtless,  but  to 
whom  would  he  loan  it?  Those  who  now  pledge  real  es- 
tate as  security  for  loans  would  obtain  currency  from  the 
government.  This  would  include  the  great  mass  of  direct 
interest  payers — the  farmers,  the  railroads,  municipalities 
and  a  large  percentage  of  manufacturers;  but  the  remuner- 
ative prices  which  all  useful  articles  would  command  under 
the  changed  condition  would  soon  obliterate  the  system 
whereby  those  who  'produce  wealth,  borrow  from  those 
who  do  not.  With  money  obtainable  from  government 
in  supply  equal  to  the  demand,  at  two  per  cent  per  annum, 


Scientific  Money.  89 


a  medium-of-excliange  could  no  more  constitute  an  article 
o£  profitable  traffic,  than  Q,Q.n  posiage  skimps  under  j^res- 
ent  regulations.  As  every  issue  of  currency  under  the 
proposed  system  would  result  from  a  legitimate  demand 
for  a  circulating  medium,  an  overissue  (sufficient  to  depre- 
ciate its  value  as  a  convenient  medium  of  exchange)  would 
be  impossible . 

The  United  States  census  for  1890  shows  that  the  na- 
tional wealth  at  that  time  amounted  to  §60,000,000,000. 
Mr.  Geo.  C.  Ward,  a  well  known  economic  writer  and  stat. 
istician  in  a  valuable  treatise  recently  issued  entitled  'A  Bet- 
ter Financial  System'  (Arena  Pub.  Co.,  Boston)  thus  tabu- 
lates the  items  comprising  the  national  wealth  in  1890;  viz: 

TOTAL  VALUES   IN  UNITED  STATES. 

1890. 

1.  Farms  (bare  land) '. $6,000,000,000 

2.  Unimproved  lands  1,000,000,000 

3.  Mines,  petroleum  and  coal  lands 2,000,000,000 

4.  Lots  in  cities  and  towns  (bare  land) «.000,000,000 

5.  Railroads  and  municipal  franchises 7,000,000.000 

6.  All  buildings  and  other  improvements 13,000,000.000 

7.  All  personal  property 18,000,000.000 

Total $55,000,000,000 

Between  the  above  figures  and  those  of  the  Censits 
Bureau  there  is  an  ay)parent  discrepancy  of  $5,000,000,000. 
Mr.  Ward  estimates  that  various  railway  and  other  stocks 
which  are  included  in  the  above  statement  have  been  'wa- 
tered' to  the  extent  of  !?5,000.000,000,  and  upon  this  theory 
the  two  compilations  are  made  to  agree. 

Of  the  items  in  the  foregoing  tabulation,  the  1st,  4th, 
and  oth,  at  least  could  safely  and  advantageously  serve  as 
a  basis  for  the  issue  of  national  currency  if  required.  For- 
ty per  cent  of  the  above  estimated  actual  value  would  ap- 
proximate the  present  assessed  valuation  of  the  same  for 
taxable  purposes. 


40  Scientific  Money. 

CONCLUSION.  . 
Those  who  suppose  so  radical  a  disease  as  that  which 
afflicts  society  can  be  cured  by  a  return  to  bi-metallism,  or 
by  other  conservative  remedies,  fail  to  appreciate  the  dan- 
gerous character  of  the  prevailing  disorder.  By  reason  of 
past  financial  legislation  the  people  of  the  United  States 
are  overwhelmingly  in  debt,  and  must  remain  so  while  ob- 
ligaiions  are  payable  in  coin  or  Jiigh-priced  credit.  The 
disease  is  debt.  The  remedy  is  a  simple  one;  i.  e. — Make 
VALUE  instead  of  com,  a  legal-tender  in  the  payment  of  le- 
gal obligations,  through  an  adequate  issue  of  legal -tender 
currency,  issued  as  a  specific  representative  of  appropriate 
property-value,  and  as  a  result  of  this  single  act,  the  golden 
fetters  will  incontinently  fall  from  the  limbs  of  Industry, 
and  thereupon  Prosperity  who  patiently  awaits  the  tardy 
act,  will  rejoice  with  an  emancipated  jjeople  in  the  birth  of 
that  which  society  has  never  yet  enjoyed— an  honest  mon- 
ey system. 


Scientific  Money.  41 


APPENDIX. 

Note  A— The  writer  is  greatly  indebted  to  E.  S.  WaterUury,  Esq. 
of  Emporia,  for  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  this  measure,  and  for 
suggestions  which  have  been  appropriated  and  embodied  in  the  ac- 
companying argument.  For  his  painstaking  labor,  his  uniformily 
courteous  attention,  and  encouraging  interest  in  the  subject  matter  of 
the  treatise,  he  has  placed  the  author  under  lasting  obligations. 


Note  B — In  the  countries  ol  Australia,  New  Zealand  and  British 
Columbia  there  is  in  operation  what  is  known  as  The  Torrens' System 
of  Registering  Land  Titles,  whereby  through  methods  which  have 
proved  most  satisfactory,  the  government  for  a  small  consideration  in 
each  case,  guarantees  an  indefeasible  title  to  the  lawful  owner  of  real 
estate,  and  in  this  manner  arbitrarily  settles  disputes  relating  to  land 
titles.  The  consideration  which  is  received  for  the  guaranty  of  titles 
generally,  is  set  aside  as  a  fund  from  which  to  indemnify  any  who 
may  be  wronged  by  the  arbitrary  action  of  the  government  in  any 
particular  case.  The  advantages  of  the  Torrens  System  are,  that 
when  the  title  of  a  tract  of  land  is  once  registered,  all  subsequent  con- 
veyances of  the  land  are  made  by  a  certificate  issued  by  the  Registrar, 
thus  saving  to  subsequent  buyers  or  sellers  the  expense  of  searching 
records  and  furnishing  expensive  abstracts  of  title,  legal  opinions,  etc. 

Thus  one  thorough  examination  of  the  title  to  a  tract  is  made  to 
answer  for  every  subsequent  transfer.  It  is  also  claimed  that  the 
practical  results  of  the  system  in  tlie  countries  named  has  been  "to 
add  largely  to  the  wealth  of  the  community  by  restoring  to  their  val- 
ue as  buildings  sites  many  blocks  of  laml  wliich  had  been  deprived  of 
that  special  value  by  technical  defects  and  uncertainties  attaching  to 
the  title."  Those  familiar  with  the  methods  employed  by  different 
countries  in  the  transfer  of  land  titles,  unhesitatingly  pronounce  the 
Torrens'  System  the  most  perfect  yet  devised,  and  a  desire  for  its 
adoption  by  the  various  states  of  the  Union  is  becoming  man- 
ifest. Inasmuch  as  the  title  to  really  constitutes  an  important  feat- 
ure of  the  proposed  issue  of  land  currency,  this  method  of  registering 
the  title  of  lands  upon  which  an  issu^-  of  currenc}^  would  be  granted 
could  be  easily  and  advantageously  be  m  ule  a  feature  of  the  accom- 
panying measure.  In  the  February  number  of  the  Century  Magazine 
for  1892  appears  an  article  by  Mr.  Edward  Atkinson,  in  advoc-icy  of 
the  Torrens'  System  from  which  the  following  explanatory  extracts 
re  taken:-- 


42  Scientific  Money. 

"The  registry  of  titles, clears  all  fair  and  honest  titles,  removes  all  exist- 
ing clouds,  and  gives  the  occupant  who82  title  passes  the  examiners  in  the  first  in- 
stance indefeasible  possession;  while  at  the  same  lime  rendering  the  future 
transfer  or  conveyance  of  the  land  as  simple  and  as  ready  as  the  transfer  of  a  share 
of  railway  or  factory  stock  now  is  in  this  country,  and  reducing  the  cost  of  convey- 
ance, as  it  has  been  well  put,  "from  pounds  to  shillings." 

"Under  the  Land  Transfer  Act,  it  is  not  necessary  to  examine  the  deeds  in  the  ab- 
stract of  title;  these  no  longer  exist.  They  have  been  delivered  up  to  the  registrar, 
and  when  a  certificate  of  title  is  granted  they  are  cancelled.  An  investor  therefore 
does  not  run  the  risk  of  a  mistake  or  blunder  of  his  solicitor.  Every  transaction  has 
its  finality  and  complete  security." 

"Conveyancing  by  deed  without  registration  is  the  common  rule  in  England;  reg 
Istering  deeds  the  common  rule  in  the  United  States.  Conveyancing  by  registry  of 
title  wag  not  new  when  Sir  Robert  Torrcns  applied  it  in  Australia.  It  has  been  in  op- 
eration for  over  a  century  in  Pjussia,  in  Bavaria,  and  in  other  European  states,  nota- 
bly in  Hamburg,  which  until  lately  was  one  of  the  free  cities  where  a  similar  system 
has  been  In  operation  for  over  GOO  years.  Purchasers  of  estates  ip  Paris  may  also  ob- 
an  insured  title  by  payment  of  a  small  fee  to  the  city." 

"The  registrar  of  New  South  Wales  reported  in  1881,  that  although  the  Real  Prop 
erty  Act  or  Torrens'  System  had  been  in  operation  eighteen  years  no  compensation 
had  been  made  upon  the  titles  registered  nor  had  any  claim  been  sustained  against 
the  insurance  fund  which  at  that  time  amounted  to  a  little  over  thirty-eight  thousand 
pounds  sterling." 

The  ordinary  fees  for  registration  are  as  follows:  A  fixed  fee  of  $3.25  on  each 
registration;  and  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  ceclared  value  of  the  land  up  to 
$5000,  and  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  value  over  that  amou  ut, 

"The  best  evidence  that  the  act  works  satisfactorily  is  that  no  certificate  of  title 
has  ever  been  attacked  since  the  beginning  of  the  registry  under  the  act  in  1870.  The 
popular  verdict  is  entirely  in  its  favor  for  every  title  is  sifted  as  it  comes  in,  aud  the 
mistakes  of  ignorant  conveyancers,  or  those  arising  from  other  causes,  are  rectified 
before  they  are  allowed  to  affect  the  title.  One  great  advantage  is  that  any  one  can 
search  a  title  for  fifty  cents." 


ADDE/NDA. 

Tt  is  an  interesting  fact  that  not  only  has  Congress 
power  to  afford  the  relief  that  is  so  generally  desired,  but 
that  those  who  are  actively  demanding  reform  measures  — 
the  Populists— already  possess  sufficient  numerical 
strength  to  accomplish  needed  legislation,  were  their  forces 
utilized  by  the  commissioned  leaders  of  the  movement. 

Were  the  Populists  demanding  an  impartial  adminis- 
tration of  public  affairs  as  an  organized  body  of  indepcncU 
ent  voters,  rather  than  as  a  political  party  demanding  re- 
form— pZus  OFFICE,  the  balance  of  power  they  hold  in  a 
large  majority  of  the  congressional  districts  of  the  United 
States  could  easily  be  made  effective  in  inaugurating  any 
meritorious  legislation. 

Under  present  tactics  the  reform  forces  are  engaged 
in  an  unequal,  if  not  a  futile,  struggle  for  partizan  ballots. 
The  contest,  should  be  for  control  of  the  maohinerij  of  the 
dominant  political  party— whether  republican  or  democratic. 
In  seeking  relief  through  the  instrumentality  of  a 
new  political  party  the  reformers  antagonize  two  intluential 
classes  of  society,  and  thus  the  jwlifician  and  the  j^artizan 
become  active  enemies  of  the  movement,  who,  were  other 
tactics  pursued,  would  naturally  become  interested  and  val- 
uable allies. 

Were  the  non-producer's  control  of  national  legislation 
intelligently  contested,  no  uncertainty  would  attend  the 
issue:  the  common  enemy,  in  fact,  is  formidable  only  be- 
cause opposed  by  unorganized,  or  mismanaged  forces. 

The  one  thing  required  in  the  present  emergency  is  a 
CONGRESSIONAL   MAJORITY — pledged  toy  he   enactment  of  a 
specific,  practical,  measure  of  relief     The  election  of  sue  h 
a  majority  by  the  populists    is  purely  a    matter  of   tactics. 


Were  the  right  fulcrum  used  the  task  would  be  an  easy 
one.  The  independent  electors  of  the  various  congression- 
al districts  have  but  to  formulate  a  practical  measure,  and 
in  an  organized  capacity  demand  its  enactment,  in  order 
to  readily  obtain  remedial  legislation  through  the  action  of 
any  dominant  political  party. 

Whenever  in  a  representative  government  the  interests 
of  the  constituency  are  betrayed  by  the  representative,  it 
is  because  it  can  b3  done  with  impunity.  Whenever  those 
represented  are  alive  to  their  interests  the  representative  is 
conscious  of  the  fact  and  acts  accordingly.*  Hence  it  fol- 
lows, that  the  political  complexion  of  the  congressman  is 
immaterial  if  his  pledge  be  formally  obtained  to  support 
the  specific  measure  demanded.  A  plan  of  action  therefor 
which  would  exact  from  each  congressional  candidate,  as  a 
condition  precedent  to  his  election,  a  written  obligation  to 
actively  support  the  measure  prescribed,  (the  independent 
forces  being  represented  by  a  duly  constituted  congression- 
al committee)  would  effectually  forestall  any  clandestine 
arrangement  which  might  subsequently  be  proposed  or  at- 
tempted by  those  who  now,  through  diplomacy  or  intrigue, 
direct  congressional  legislation.  Under  these  conditions 
the  formal  pledge  of  Mr,  Reed,  the  republican  leader  from 
Maine,  would  be  as  scrupulously  kept  as  would  that  of  Mr. 
Simpson,  of  Kansas. 

Such  a  demand  upon  the  regular  party  candidates,  by 
the  independent  electois  of  a  consressional  district,  would 
force  a  public  discussion  of  the  measure  proposed  that 
would  discover  its  defects  or  commend  its  practicability. 

In  the  remote  contingency  that  neither  of  the  regular 
party  candidates  could  conscientiously  endorse  the  pro- 
posed legislation,  an  independent  congressional  candidate^ 

*    Presidential  Electors  furaisU  aa  apt  illustratioa  of  this    fact. 
The  "Moaey  power"  evea  could  aot  seduce  oae  of  these  electors. 


3 

similarly  pledged,  coald  be  supplied  by  the  congressional 
committee,  for  whom  the  ballots  of  those  favorable  to  the 
measure — irrespective  of  political  affiliations — could  be 
cast. 

By  this  simple  method  of  procedure  the  victims  of 
jDresent  legislation  could  unite  in  a  j^ractical  manner  with- 
out the  necessity  of  surrendering  political  convictions,  ad- 
vocating extraneous  measures,  or  defending  the  character 
or  official  acts  of  party  nominees.* 

The  congress  thus  elected,  while  comprising  members 
representing  republican  or  democratic  constituencies,  would 
be  formally  pledged  to  the  enactment  of  a  specific  econom- 
ic measure  by  an  obligation  sufficient  to  protect  the  inter- 
ests of  the  constituency . 

Thus  would  the  populist  strength  now  uselessly  ex- 
pended in  elevating  to  state  and  county  offices,  officials 
whose  duties  are  not  in  the  remotest  degree  associated  with 
the  legislation  required,  be  reserved;  and  the  reform  prin- 
ciple be  divorced  from,  and  rendered  independent  of  the 
personality  or  motives  of  its  supporters.  Members  of  state 
legislatures  who  elect  United  States  Senators  could  also  be 
selected  in  a  similar  manner  through  the  intervention  of 
the  League's  committee. 

Success  in  the  present  movement  through  the  agency 
of  a  third  party,  not  only  involves  the  education  of  a  pln- 
rality,  at  least,  of  the  voting  population  to  an  appreciation 
of  the  merits  of  abstruse  economic  questions,  concerning 
which  varying  opinions  are  honestly  entertained,  but  it 
demands  of  the  voter  that  he  sever  his  relations    with,  and 

*  A  committee  in  each  county  comprising  the  primary  delegates 
— one  from  each  municipal  township;  a  congressional  committee  con- 
sisting of  the  chairmen  of  the  several  county  committees;  and  a  na- 
tional advisory  committee  consisting  of  three  members  representing 
the  East,  the  South,  and  the  West,  would  constitute  an  organization 
through  which  all  essential  d'jiails  could  be  arranged. 


4 

abandon  the  party  organization  to  which  by  name  and  as- 
sociation the  partizan  is  bound  by  indissoluble  ties.  This 
demand  is  as  unnecessary  as  it  is  impracticable;  impracti- 
cable, because  the  vast  majority  of  those  to  whom  the  ap- 
peal is  made  are  too  busily  enf^aged  in  the  struggle  for  sub- 
sistence to  devote  time  to  the  investigation  of  disputed  eco- 
nomic theories,  as  they  are  too  loyal  to  their  political  lead- 
ers to  question  either  their  wisdom  or  their  political  hon- 
esty. 

The  present  struggle  is  not,  as  many  assume,  a  contest 
between  good  and  bad  men;  nor  is  it  a  battle  between  pa- 
triots and  partizans;  nor  is  it,  as  claimed,  a  sectional  con- 
troversy between  the  'East'  and  the  'West.'  It  is  a  conflict 
between  the  producing  *  and  the  non-producing  classes  of 
society;  a  conflict  on  the  one  hand  for  the  continuance,  on 
the  other  for  the  repeal,  of  certain  inherited  statutory  en- 
actments which  enable  the  non-producer  to  reap  the  fruit 
of  other's  toil,  through  methods  which,  although  lawful  and 
seemingly  legitimate,  are  nevertheless,  artful,  unjust,  and 
destructive  of  human  happiness. 

The  real  enemy  of  society  therefore  is  not  the  'pluto- 
crat,' but  the  statutory  laws  which  enable  men  to  become 
plutocrats:  laws  which  the  victims  of  the  present  condition 
possess  the  power  to  abolish.  To  effect  the  repeal  of  these 
noxious  laws  is  the  real  issue  in  the  present  struggle,  and 
victory  lies  in  leadershii^  which,  recognizing  the  character 
of  the  forces  to  be  emi^loyed,  shall  utilize,  not  antagonize, 
the  uninformed  partizan  voter. 

Considering  the  necessities  of  the  situation,  the  pro- 
gress thus  far  made  by  the  reform  forces  while  considera- 
ble, is  far  from  satisfactory. 


*  The  term  producing  classes  as  here  used  is  intended  to  include 
all  persons  engaged  in  useful  pursuits,  as  distinguished  from  those 
whose  incomes  are  derived  from  interest  or  rent. 


5 


The  great  desideratum — organization — haa  been  suc- 
cessfully effected;  but  it  yet  remains  as  a  necessary  step 
in  achieving  the  end  sought  to  ascertain — why  the  organ- 

IZATION  IS  INOPERATIVE. 

Why  do  not  the  producing  classes  of  the  nation  em- 
brace Populism  as  a  means  of  uniting  their  forces  against 
the  common  enemy — The  Non-producer? 

Does  the  fault  lie  with  those  who  deliberately  refuse 
to  endorse  the  present  movement? 

Or  is  it  because  the  methods  and  measures  of  the  re- 
form leaders  are  not  such  as  the  occasion  demands? 

The  interests  of  the  movement  demand  that  this  ques 
tion  be  honestly  answered. 


Whenever  a  nation  of  people  who  crave  financial  relief, 
refuse  to  cordially  endorse  a  movement  of  respectable  pro- 
portions looking  to  that  end,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that 
there  is  something  seriously  defective  in  the  proposition  as 
submitted. 

That  ivhich  is  defeating  the  objects  of  the  present  re- 
form movement  is  the  office-holding  feature  of  the  plan 
submitted  by  tlie  reform  leaders.     An  analysis  of  the  situ- 
ation justifies  this  conclusion.     It  is  not,  as  claimed  by  the 
reform  press  and  speakers,  the  capitalists  who  are  defeat- 
ing the  reformers:     It  is  the  politicians.     Not  in  an    ag- 
gresive  movement  against    reform,  but  as  a    result  of   the 
defensive  policy  to  which  they  have  been  driven  by  reform 
tactics.     In  opposing  the  ofiice-holding  appendage  of  the 
reform  idea  the  politician  is  compelled  to   antagonize  the 
reform  movement,  of  which  office-seeking  is  so  conspicuous 
a  feature.     The  opposition   of  the   politician  is  not  to  the 
reform,  it  is  to  the  methods  proposed  for  its  inauguration. 


6 

Were  the  unwise  policy  which  aniajonizes  Ihe  politi- 
cal interests  of  this  sagacious  and  influential  element 
forthwith  abandoned  the  reform  movement  would  gain  the 
active  sujyport  of  those  icho  are  at  present  responsible  for 
its  defeat. 

In  conducting  a  partizan  warfare  against  the  populists 
the  politicians  are  materially  aided  by  the  imperfections 
that  are  apparent  in  the  principal  relief  measures  proposed 
by  the  reform  leaders;  to  wit:  The  financial  demands  of 
the  Omaha  Platform. 

These  ^demands'  constitute  a  conspicuous  target  for 
hostile  arrows,  as  none  of  the  specific  measures  proposed  are 
logically  defensible.  It  is  not  improbable  that  much  of 
the  present  opposition  to  the  new  movement  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  populist's  creed  fails  to  satisfy  those  who  are 
inteU'gently  seeking  the  cause  of  the  present  extraordinary 
social  condition.  The  intelligent  inquirer  demands  to  know 
why  the  measures  proposed  will  afford  the  promised  relief. 

Those  who  propose  as  a  solution  of  the  problem,  either 
bimetallism     or      an     issue     of       treasury        notes      in 
volume  equal  to  $50  per  capita  of  the  present  population, 
would  find  it  difficult  to  furnish  a  discriminating  inquirer 
with  satisfactory  reasons  for  prescribing  these  measures.* 

Aside  from  the  fact  that  Metallism  is  the  chief  cause 
of,  rather  than  a  cure  for  society's  ills,  the  demand  for  the 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  IG  to  1,  is  tanta- 
mount to  a  demand  that  government  impart  an  exchange- 
able value  of  100  cents  to  each  371J  grains  of  pure  silver 
presented  at  the  mint  for  coinage.     As  the  market  value  of 

*  The  Sub-treasury,  or  government  warehouse  plan,  to  which  the 
movement  was  unceremoniously  committed  by  th«se  who  drafted  the 
resolutions  adopted  at  Ciucinnatti.  has  been,  virtually,  abandoned  as 
impracticable.  But  a  small  percentage  of  populists  ever  gave  this 
measure  unqualified  endorsement. 


this  amoimt  of  silver  at  present  is  about  56  cents,  this  law 
would,  virtually,  make  the  government  a  purchaser  at  this 
fictitions  valuation  of  all  bullion  which  might  be  presented 
by  its  owner  for  'coinage,"'  thus  practically  doubling  the 
market  value  of  the  output  of  the  silver  mines  by  arbitrary 
decree,*  There  are  thousands  who  are  earnestly  seeking 
light  on  the  financial  cj[uestion  who  are  unable  to  see  either 
the  justice  or  the  expediency  of  this  'demand/ 

A  similar  difficulty  confronts  the    enquirer  in  his  en- 
deavors to  discover  the  principle  upon  which  the  '$50-per- 
capita'  demand  is   based.    Why    the   vjhnna  of   nion9y — 
which  is  an  available   representative  of   wealth — should  be 
regulated  hy  populaiion,  is  a  problem  the  answer  to  which 
is  left  to  conjecture.     This  demand  doubtless  relies  for  its 
justification  upon  the  assumption  that  exchanges  are  effect- 
ed with  money,  and  that  the  nation  is  suffering  for  the  need 
of  a  greater  money  volume.     This  view  although  a  popu- 
lar one  is  technically   incorrect.     What  is  needed  is  not  a 
greater  money  volume,   but  a  cheaper   circulating  me- 
dium; i.  e.,  a  circulating  medium  ptovided  by  government 
at  cost,  in  lieu  of  that  now  obtained  from  banks  and  finan- 
ciers at  current   interest  rates.     In  order  to  obtain  such  a 
circulating  medium,  the  supply  of  national  currency  must,. 


*  The  demonetization  of  silver  has  established  beyond  question  a 
truth  which  could  not  otherwise  have  been  satisfactorily  proven;  viz:' 
That  a  law  which  authorizes  the  unlimited  coinage  of  any  metal — 
gold  not  excepted— necessarily  equalizes  the  market  value  of  such 
metal  whether  it  be  coined  or  uncoined,  and  regardless  of  its  natural 
value  as  a  commodity.  Thus: — To  declare  that  :23  22  grains  of  pure 
gold  when  coined  shall  equal  in  value  one  dollar's  worth  of  an}'  other 
commodity  is  to  arbitrarily  determine  the  value  of  this  amount  of  yel- 
low metal  in  the  products  of  labor  generally.  As  all  gold  under  tne 
present  law  is  coinable  into  l^gal-tender  'dollars'  at  the  will  of  its 
owner, — How  can  there  be  any  variation  in  the  market  value  of  a 
metal  thus  favored? 


equal  the  legitimate  demand*  therefor,  (be  the  demand 
greater  or  less)  and  it  must  be  issued  at  co^t,  as  a  specific 
representative,  not  of  'popnlaiion,  hnt  of  wealfh.  Inas 
much  as  under  any  financial  system  the  bulk  of  business 
transactions  will  be  effected  with  credit  devices,  (either 
high,  or  low-priced)  rather  than  with  actual  currency,  it  is 
not  at  all  unlikely  that  were  society  out  of  debt  the  present 
volume  of  actual  currency  would  suffice  to  answer  the  re- 
quirements of  trade. 


It  is  obvious  that  no  change  in  financial  legislation  is 
proposed  by  either  the  republican  or  democratic  leaders, 
not  withstand  in  (j  the  lyressing  necessities  of  the  rank  and 
file  of  both  tliese  j^arties.  It  is  also  evident  that  no  relief 
is  jDossible  through  action  of  the -'Peoples  Party  until  it  is 
elevated  to  national  power  by  democratic  and  republican 
voters.  With  the  democratic  leaders  in  full  possession  of 
government  patronage,  and  the  republicans  hopeful  of  suc- 
cess because  of  democratic  recreancy,  the  jjrospects  for 
third  party  ascendency  in  '96  are,  at  best,  uncertain. 

How  imperative  therefore  is  the  necessity  for  immediate 
action  through  a  non-partizan  movement  of — the  people. 

The  plan  of  action  herein  outlined  is  both  simple  and 
feasible.  Excepting  in  one  essential  particular,t  it  is  sim- 
ilar to  that  upon  which  the  non-partizan  Farmers  Alliance 
was  so  auspiciously  inxugurated,  anl  upon  which  it  gained 
its  phenomenal  victories  in  ISO ).  Tnis  well  conceived 
movement  was  unfortunately  wrested  from  its  sound  moor- 


*    Postage  stamps  are  obtainable  at  present   rates  for  the  reason 
only  that  the  supply  equals  the  deiiuind. 

■f-The  farmer's  movement  supplied  its  own   can  lidates,  instead  of 
prescribing  the  course  of  those  in  ofBce  as  herein  proposed. 


9 

ings  by  the  hasty  and  ill  advised   action  of  the   Cincinnati 
Convention  of  1891.    * 

Thus  a  successful  independent  political  movement — 
which  had  exhibited  its  pjwar  in  Kansas  by  electing  5  of 
the  7  congressmen  to  which  the  state  was  entitled — was 
degraded  to  ihe  level  of  a  political  party,  in  which  the 
individuality  of  the  citizen  is  necessarily  subordinated  to 
the  decree  of  the  party  caucus,  and  to  the  intriguing  domi- 
nation  of   ambitious   or   venal    party  leaders. 

Thehops  of  the  nation  lies  in  the  in^dependest  elec- 
tor! 

If  Populism,  in  its  true  sense,  is  to  constitute  the 
agency  through  which  popular  government  is  to  be  perpet- 
uated it  must  be  lifted  from  the  plane  of  partizanship  and 
restored  to  its  original  patriotic  purpose. 

The  action  demanded  is  radical  but  imperative!  The 
fatal  step  taken  at  Cincinnati  must  be  retraced  while  there 
is  yet  time  to  avoid  the  dangers  that  threaten  the  Republic. 

Relief  lies  in  the  individual  action  of  those  who  de- 
mand it! 

Let  the  victims  of  present  legislation  unite  upon  a  sin- 
gle issue. 

Let  there  be  formed  in  each  municipal  township  of  the 
nation  an  Independent  League  of  those  who  favor  the 
Monetizing  of  Land  Values  . 


■f  This  convention  was  in  no  sense  national  in  character.  It  was 
called  and  held  at  the  instance  of  a  very  few  men  and  a<^ainst  the  pro- 
test of  the  officers  of  nearly  all  the  Industrial  organizations,  includ- 
ing Polk,  Powderly,  Beaumont,  Terrell,  and  the  Southern  Alliance 
leaders  generally.  Hasty  action  was  deprecated  by  those  who  wisely 
organized  the  Alliiince,  and  the  sentiment  against  third  party  action 
prevailed  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Alliance  held  at 
Ocalain  December  1890.  At  this  meeting  a  National  Conference  of 
the  Industrial  organizations  was  arranged  to  consider  the  course  which 
should  be  pursued.  This  Conference  was  to  have  been  held  in  Febru 
1892.    The  Cincinnati  Convention  was  held  in  May  1891. 


10 

Such  action  alone^  on  the  part  of  those  already  pre- 
pared to  endorse  the  proposition  will  insure  a  discussion 
of  the  measure  which  will  disclose  its  icondrous  possibili- 
ties. 

When  the  remedy  j)roposed  shall  have  commeuded  it- 
self as  a  practical  and  desirable  solution  of  the  pending  [)rob- 
lem,  the  electors  of  the  several  congressional  districts — thus 
organized — may  direct  their  representatives  in  Congress  to 
enact  the  measure  into  Law. 

Should  the  demand  be  general,  the  end  sought  is  ac- 
complished. 

Should  the  proposal  for  non-partizan  action  be  antag- 
onized by  party  leaders,  the  line  should  1)0  sharply 
drawn  between  those  who  are  demanding  good  government 
simply,  and  those  who.  upon  any  pretext,  demand  official 
position  as  a  necessary  accompaniment. 

The  present  attitude  of  the  partizan  reform  leader  nec- 
essarily subjects  his  motives  to  public  suspicion.  The 
emergency  demands  a  policy  which  shall  jjlace  beyond  ques- 
tion the  motive  of  those  who,  in  this  crisis,  assume  to  teach 
or  to  lead.  Such  a  policy  will  both,  disarm  the  active  op- 
ponent, and  fortify  the  timid  adherent. 

Prompt  action  must  be  taken — while  Reason  rules — 
that  the  impending  revolution  may  be  a  peaceful  one. 


CONTE^NTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Currency— Its  magical  power— Iguorance  of  its  nature  the  primal  cause  of  pov- 
erty—Addison's  apottiegm— The  popular  definition  of  currency  amended— Money 
made  plentiful  or  scarce  by  act  of  Congress— Present  currency  issues  explained— 
Fallacious  financial  theories  dominant — The  President's  view— Tts  sophistry  dem. 
onstrated — The  "Gold  redemption'  theory  a?ialyzed— Why  money  circulates — A  pre- 
mium on  gold  over  other  legal-tender,  impossible. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Monetary  terms  defined,  Money  vs  Currency,  Money  not  the  common  medium  of 
exchange,  The  dependence  of  society  upon  the  banks,  liank-credits  the  common  me- 
dium of  exchange,  An  illustration  of  banking  methods.  Bank-credits  the  commercial 
equiralent  of  currency,'  Statistical  table  showing  with  what  exchanges  are  effected, 
Interest,  society's  arch  enemy,  How  it  is  generated,  A  new  money  system  indispen- 
sable, A  Hew  truth  proclaimed— Interest  for  the  use  of  money,  not  compensation  for 
the  use  of  capital.  Evolution  in  finance  essential  to  prosperity,  3000  years  of  financial 
darkness,  Why  currency  commands  'interest,'  The  disastrous  effects  of  Metallism. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  quantitative  theory  of  moHey  a  fallacy.  Money  not  the  'measure  of  value,' 
An  accepted  theory  demolished.  The  Mill-Ricardo  theory  and  its  distinguished  advo- 
cates, Quotations  from  eminent  political  economists,  Unwiirranted  assumptions  re- 
futed. How  value  is  'measured,'  How  ability-to-purchase  in  the  masses  is  destroyed, 
The  primal  cause  of  low  prices.  The  ceaseless  interest-drain  that  centralize?  wealth. 
The  enormous  indirect  interest-tax  paid  by  consumers.  Actuil  increass  of  the  public 
debt.  Statistical  tabli'. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  concise  definition  of  money.  Monetized  wealtii  vs  wealth.  Only  2'/^  per  cent 
of  the  nation's  wealth  monetized  for  exchangeable  purposes  under  Metallism, 
.lustice  demands  the  monetization  of  all  eligible  forms  of  wealth  at  the  Will  of  its 
owner.  Two  methods  of  monetizing  value.  The  artifleial  valuation  of  the  precious 
metals  under  the  present  system,  An  Act  to  utilize  Land  Values  as  a  Money  Hasis, 
A  money  system  proposed  whicli  will  abolish  'interest'  for  the  use  of  a  circulating 
medium.  Full  text  of  the  measure. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Land  Currency,  A  faultless  money  system,  A  fliexible  currency,  at  a  nominal 
cost,  A  scientific  solution  of  the  vexed  question.  Four  irrefutable  propositions  in 
support  of  the  new  theory,  A  convincing  elucidation.  Objections  considered,  A  finan- 
cial system  which  would  benefit  all  and  injure  none.  The  creditor's  interests  coiisid 
ered.  Debts  now  payable  in  gold,  would  under  the  proposed  system  be  payable  in  a 
legal  representative  of  wealth.  Statistical  table  showing  of  what  the  nation's  wealth 
consists,  Conclusion. 

APPENDIX. 

An  acknowledgotnent— The  Torren's  System  of  Registering  Land  Titles. 

ADDENDA. 


J.  D.  hOLDE/M'S  ECO/NOA\IC  WRIJI/NCS. 


Sent  post-paid  upok  receipt  of  price;  viz: 

Metallic  Money  and  Hard  Times 25c 

The  Law  of  Legal  Tender 10c 

Government  Railways 10c 

Scientific  Money 15c 

The  four  to  one  address 50c 

Reform  Publishing  Co., 

Emporia,  Kansas. 


"What  is  the  best  work  on  the  Money  Question? 

To  a  hundred  such  questions  in  the  past,   the  invariable   answer 
has  been— Metallic    Money  and    Hard  Tiln^is."—  Anericaa  Noacon 
formist. 

"A  great  argumeni"— Pittsburg,  Kansas. 

"Metallic  Money  and  Hard  Times  is  the  title  of  a  book  which  leads 
all  others  on  the  Money  Qnestion."— Br ookfield  Union. 

"There  is  not  a  superfluous  or  idle  sentence  in  the  argument." — 
Oeo.  C.  Ward. 

"Worth  its  weight  in  'Metallic  Money'  to  every  one  who  desires  to 
post  themselves  on  the  greatest  of  all  public  questions."- .(4 6t7ene  Mon- 
itor, 

"Refreshingly  interesting." — Emporia  Republican. 

"The  best  short  article  on  the  Money  Question  we  have  ever  seen." 
—  Fredonia  Democrat. 

"The  very  essence  of  thought."— Senator  Peffer. 

"If  Mr.  Holden  had  the  ear  of  all  voters  he  certainly  would  capture 
a  majority  for  his  plan  with  such  modifications  as  would  provide  for 
foreign  debts."*— J.   V.  Farwell. 

*  It  will  become  apparent  upon  reflection  that  no  modification 
of  the  plan,  as  suirgested  by  Mr.  Farwell,  is  necessary.  ..'Foreign 
debts' are  not  payable  in  American  monev;  they  are  payable  in  for- 
eign legal  tender,  or  in  its  commTcial  equivalent— foreign  exchange. 
$1000  in  gold  coin  will  purchase  no  more  foreign  exchange  at  the 
present  time  than  will  $1000  in  silver  coin,  because  both  are  equally 
a  legal  tender.  Foreign  exchange  can  always  be  had  in  the  United 
States  for  American  legal-tender.— Jwi/<or'»  note. 


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